Genetic analysis suggests bird flu virus mutated in a Louisiana patient who contracted the first serious case of illness in the countrythe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week.
Scientists believe the mutations could allow the virus to better bind to receptors in humans’ upper respiratory tracts – which they say is concerning but not a cause for concern.
Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease researcher at the University of Minnesota, likened this compelling interaction to a lock and key. To enter a cell, the virus must have a key that turns the lock, and this discovery means the virus could evolve to have a key that could work.
“Is this an indication that we may be closer to seeing a virus that is easily transmissible between people? No,” Osterholm said. “Right now, it’s a key in the lock, but it doesn’t open the door.”
The virus causes sporadic, mostly mild illness in the U.S. population, and almost all of those infected worked on dairy or poultry farms.
The Louisiana patient was hospitalized in critical condition with severe respiratory symptoms due to avian flu after coming into contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock. The person, who has not been identified, is older than 65 and has underlying health conditions, authorities said earlier this month.
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The CDC emphasized that there has been no known transmission of the virus from the Louisiana patient to anyone else. The agency said its findings on the mutations were “concerning” but that the risk of an outbreak to the general public “has not changed and remains low.”
Still, Osterholm said, scientists should continue to carefully monitor what’s happening with mutations.
“There will be other flu pandemics and they could be much worse than what we saw with COVID,” he said. “We know the pandemic clock is ticking. We just don’t know what time it is.