Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study finds
A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people


What happened
A single genetic mutation could turn the H5N1 avian flu virus infecting U.S. dairy herds into a version transmissible between humans, researchers at Scripps Research Institute reported Thursday in the journal Science.
Who said what
The H5N1 strain that started sweeping through dairy farms in March has infected 58 people working with infected cattle and poultry, the CDC said, though only with mild symptoms and no known human-to-human transmission. "All that can change if the virus mutates in the wrong way," The Washington Post said. The Scripps team found that one genetic tweak could enable the hemagglutinin proteins, or spikes, on the virus to latch onto and penetrate human respiratory cells, allowing viral spread among people.
What next?
The study is "significant, but it shouldn't cause alarm," Emory University virologist Anice Lowen said to NPR. There are likely "other changes a virus would need to go through to efficiently transmit in humans and cause a pandemic," though the massive "potential human exposure out there" does pose a "great risk" of such mutation. "If there is a bird flu pandemic soon," columnist Zeynep Tufekci said last week in The New York Times, "it will be among the most foreseeable catastrophes in history."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
A new subtype of diabetes was found and it may require different treatment
Under the radar It is prevalent in Black Africans and Americans
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreak
Speed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agency
Speed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Food may contribute more to obesity than exercise
Under the radar The devil's in the diet
-
Scientists are developing artificial blood for use in emergencies
Under the radar It could aid in global blood shortages
-
Babies born using 3 people's DNA lack hereditary disease
Under the Radar The method could eliminate mutations for future generations
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Is that the buzzing sound of climate change worsening sleep apnea?
Under the radar Catching diseases, not those ever-essential Zzs