United States: Scientists are warning about a new way bird flu is spreading, as it has recently jumped to cows for the first time. Since March, bird flu has been found on 175 dairy farms in 13 states across America, and it is now infecting humans.
As reported by GBN News, so far, 14 people have been infected, including dairy farm workers and poultry farm workers connected to the dairy outbreak. Experts fear that many more cases may not yet be detected.
Now, researchers have identified a new and more cunning carrier in another part of the world.
Researchers from Kyushu University have discovered that blowflies – a family of flies strongly or can say very impactfully attracted to decaying flesh and faeces and also are carrying bird flu in southern Japan.
The specific information was published in Scientific Reports focusing the ultimate need to develop new countermeasures to prevent and control the disease in poultry farms.
Blowflies as a New Carrier in Japan
It is unclear if this vector poses a greater threat to human-to-human transmission than cows but the signs are not good.
Here not like the birds and mammals which the virus infects and replicates inside, blowflies instead of the ingest the virus from infected dead birds or their waste, with the virus maintaining infectivity for up to two days.
Blowflies are capable of flying at least two kilometres per day, so the researchers estimate that is it feasible for them to reach nearby poultry farms or other wild bird populations within a four-kilometre range.
Risk of Spread to Poultry Farms and Wild Birds
However the experts believe that as the blowfly moves from place to place, it could contaminate surfaces, food sources and water sources, with healthy birds becoming infected through direct contact with these contaminated sources, or by ingesting adult or larval blowflies.
“By keeping areas clean and using fly control methods, such as fine nets or insecticides, we can minimize the risk of virus spread to indoor poultry farms. However, in outdoor farms in other countries, and in wild bird populations, controlling blowflies may be logistically impossible,” warned first author Associate Professor Ryosuke Fujita of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Agriculture.