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How Bird Flu Went from an Isolated Avian Illness to a Human Pandemic Threat (Part 1)

How Bird Flu Went from an Isolated Avian Illness to a Human Pandemic Threat (Part 1)

60-Second Science vor 1 Jahr

The first hints that a new strain of avian illness is emerging could be found on this beach on Delaware Bay, where migrating birds flock. Here’s what virus detectives who return there every year know right now.

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Bird flu outbreaks in poultry and cattle have caused concern for
public health officials. There have been few reported cases of
human transmission, but the growing risks of H5N1 avian influenza
have virologists on alert. Researchers at the St. Jude Center of
Excellence for Influenza Research and Response take an annual visit
to Delaware Bay to collect samples of bird poop for analysis. These
samples give the researchers a look at emerging avian illnesses.
While spillover of H5N1 into domestic birds has been known for a
while, the first case of spillover into humans was only identified
during a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong. Since then H5N1 has gone
global and moved from transmitting from bird to bird to spreading
from bird to mammal and from mammal to mammal. Associate health and
medicine editor Lauren Young takes a sample collection walk on the
beach and speaks with virus detectives about how H5N1 evolved in
episode one of our three-part series about bird flu. Join us on
Wednesday to learn how bird flu jumped from poultry to cattle.
Recommended reading: RFK, Jr., Wants to Let Bird Flu Spread on
Poultry Farms. Why Experts Are Concerned
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rfk-jr-wants-to-let-bird-flu-spread-on-poultry-farms-why-experts-are/
Bird Flu Detected in Humans in the U.S.: What We Know So Far
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bird-flu-detected-in-a-person-in-texas-what-we-know-so-far/
E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions,
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Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is
produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem
Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel
Feltman with guest Lauren Young. This series was reported and
produced by Lauren Young, Meghan Bartels, Naeem Amarsy, Fonda
Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. And special thanks to Kimberly Lau and
Dean Visser at Scientific American for making it possible and to
Michael Sheffield at St. Jude for assistance in the field. Our show
is edited by Alex Sugiura with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and
Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
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