and H5N1 avian influenza The virus is spreading rapidly among animals in the United States, and experts are on high alert for signs of human-to-human transmission. Just one mutation could make such a jump much easier, according to a new study.
The mortality rate of the virus is 50 percent Because it can also infect humans, infectious diseases in animals must be closely monitored and tightly controlled to stop the spread. strain of H5N1 is adapted to what one person can give directly to another.
Normally, several mutations of these morphological changes are required to put humans at risk from bird flu, but this time the mutation process may occur more quickly, say scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in California. discovered.
“This discovery shows how easily this virus can evolve to recognize human-type receptors.” say Infectious disease scientist Ting Hui Lin, lead author of the new study.
For a virus to cause an infection, it must find a matching receptor on the host cell. This is what H5N1 has been discovered in birds and animals, but not in humans.
Researchers examined the H5N1 2.3.4.4b strain of the virus found in recent human infections and found that a single amino acid mutation in a key protein could switch the virus’s targeting from an avian receptor to a human-type receptor. I found that enough.
The mutation, named Q226L, could act like a new pair of glasses for the virus, allowing it to see where it lands in human cells.
“Our experiments revealed that the Q226L mutation could significantly increase the ability of the virus to target and attach to human-type receptors.” say biochemist James Paulson;
“This mutation allows the virus to gain a foothold in human cells where it didn’t have it before, so this finding is a red flag for possible adaptation to humans.”
We have seen humans contract this influenza from animals after close contact with them. If the virus were able to attach to cells specific to the respiratory tract, it would be much easier for the pathogen to be transmitted from person to person via aerosols spread by talking or sneezing.
This discovery highlights the need to closely track H5N1 and continue to monitor new strains. Although the ability to capture receptors is important for the virus to spread through people, it does not exclude the possibility that other changes are also required for infection.
“Our study does not suggest that such evolution has occurred or that the current H5N1 virus carrying only this mutation can be transmitted between humans.” say Mr. Hayashi.
Further studies will be required to fully understand how this virus transfects from person to person and how this infection occurs in terms of its stability within the human host.
This should lead to a better understanding of how the virus can be contained and how best to prevent another global pandemic.
“By continuing to track genetic changes as they occur, we will have an advantage in preparing for signs of increased transmissibility.” say Biologist Ian Wilson.
“This type of research helps us understand what mutations to look out for and how to respond appropriately.”
This research science.
