Bird Flu Outbreaks Spread Worldwide, Threatening Millions of Birds
Across Europe, North America, and beyond, bird flu is leaving a devastating mark on animal populations. While human infections remain rare, the virus has caused widespread death in domestic poultry, wild birds, and even some mammal species.
New study reveals not all bats carry equal viral risk
A groundbreaking study published in Nature’s Communications Biology sheds new light on the relationship between bats and dangerous viruses. Led by researchers at the University of Oklahoma, the study shows that contrary to widespread assumptions, not all bats carry viruses with high epidemic potential, only specific groups of species.
Rabies in Peru highlights global threats of health inequity
Insight into what Peru’s second-largest city may be missing in its efforts to track rabies could provide insight to the rest of the world on a disease that still kills 70,000 people per year. A team led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that efforts to track dog-related rabies in poorer areas were lacking even though more dogs were found to have the disease there than in wealthier neighborhoods.
Rare virus transmitted by rats infects woman in Germany—link to private pet rat breeding facility
Doctors and scientists from the University Hospitals Leipzig (UKL) and Mannheim (UMM), and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI) and the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), reported a case of Seoul virus infection in a woman. The Seoul virus belongs to the hantavirus family and can be transmitted by rats.
‘Teen’ bats most likely to spread mutant coronaviruses
Raina Plowright, professor in Cornell’s Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, and colleagues unveiled new insights into the natural dynamics of coronaviruses circulating in wild bats, which are their reservoir hosts, in a new Nature Communications paper. When young bats are weaned, they’re more prone to viral infections, and more likely to shed those viruses into the environment.
Veterinarian in Japan Dies After Contracting Rare Tick-Borne Virus While Treating Infected Cats
A tragic case has raised alarm in Japan’s veterinary and public health communities after a veterinarian in Mie Prefecturedied from a rare and potentially deadly tick-borne illness known as Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS). The veterinarian is believed to have contracted the virus while treating two cats that were later confirmed to be infected with SFTS, the Mie Prefectural Veterinarians’ Association reported on June 13.