The global outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza has caused a devastating blow to wild birds and poultry, and now continues to spread to mammals, bringing it one step closer to an outbreak of avian influenza in humans.
Of course, as the coronavirus pandemic has taught us the importance of responding to outbreaks early and aggressively…
Sorry, just kidding; clearly we haven’t learned much from the COVID-19 outbreak, and it’s not funny.
Not enough has been done about the out-of-control H5N1 outbreak on fur farms in Finland or the mysterious outbreak in domestic cats in Poland.
Finland, one of Europe’s largest fur producers, is battling outbreaks among captive minks, foxes and Japanese raccoons, with scientists warning that these species are more likely to produce a variant that can infect and cause outbreaks in humans.
Even the Finnish Food Authority noted when announcing the culling of the animals that mink were susceptible to human and bird flu. If an animal is infected with both viruses at the same time, the genes of the viruses mix, creating an avian flu that can infect humans. However, they are not closing fur farms in Finland. Instead, the Finnish Wildlife Service allows fur farmers to kill wild birds in large numbers near their farms. The agency told me that the purpose of the culling was to “prevent infected birds from coming into contact with animals on fur farms,” but scientists say that’s a misguided tactic and probably useless… Since then , more fur farms in Finland have announced new shots.
Separately, Polish authorities announced that an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in domestic cats this summer had killed 29 animals, although cat owners had listed as many as 89 sick animals. This outbreak has a number of unusual features that make it particularly concerning, but how it occurred remains to be explained or further investigated.
The affected cats live in different parts of Poland, but their viruses have almost identical genetic sequences. Obviously, they cannot infect each other. Wild birds are unlikely to be the source of infection, especially since some cats have never been outdoors and no outbreaks have been detected in countries bordering Poland. It is clear that the outbreak originated in this country.
Scientists and cat owners skeptical of cat food
Another twist is that the virus in all the sick cats in Poland had two specific genetic mutations found almost exclusively in mammals, so either all the cats were infected and their viruses independently developed these mutations, or both Mutations are already present in the viruses that infect them.
Tom Peacock, who studies influenza at Imperial College London, told me that cats have likely eaten the flesh of diseased mammals or birds whose viruses have produced these mutations, which are often associated with adaptations to mammals. related.
Either of these options is alarming, and we still don’t have an answer for how all these geographically distant cats became infected with the H5N1 virus.
Polish scientists were only able to analyze five food samples, one of which (chicken intended for human consumption and also fed to cats) was positive for the H5N1 virus; however, as the scientific report points out, this was only one sample and it was possible that animals were sickened at home subsequently contaminated.
The H5N1 virus was also recently detected in two cat shelters in Seoul, South Korea. Authorities suspected the source was cat food and recalled two varieties of the same brand. Although research there may provide some answers, the situation is different in Poland because Korean cats live in the same place.
Extensive testing throughout the food chain is needed to determine the actual source.
However, authorities have not made public information about whether such an investigation is ongoing in Poland.
Poland is the EU’s largest poultry exporter, so any involvement in the poultry food chain has economic consequences.
Poland is also the largest mink farm operator in the EU. An obvious concern is that mink will become infected with H5N1 and that mink meat will somehow contaminate the food chain and end up in cats.
Unfortunately, Poland’s mink farms have become embroiled in the country’s culture wars. Although the ban has widespread support, a previous attempt to ban mink farms in 2020 nearly brought down the government. The far right in particular has mobilized against it. Members of the family that controls the vast majority of Poland’s mink farms said the proposed ban was supported by “people who promote LGBTQ, same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, etc.” The Conservative government backed down.
This short-sightedness is not exclusive to the far right. In the United States, a provision banning mink farming passed the House of Representatives last year but was defeated in the Senate in a bipartisan effort: many Democratic senators joined forces with Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson (many mink farms in Wisconsin continue to operate mink) together with the abolition of this provision. Prohibition in legislation.
What happened to Polish mink farms?
Maybe Poland has done a great job preventing mink outbreaks, but maybe it hasn’t even identified them yet, even if it’s just not paying enough attention, which is possible. An outbreak last year in mink in Spain showed that H5N1 is less lethal to minks than to poultry (it can kill 80 to 90 percent of infected animals), so unless adequate surveillance is in place, the outbreak is likely to remain undetected. will be noticed. These milder outbreaks may trigger pandemics because the early stages may be more difficult to detect.
Animals raised for the fur industry, such as mink and foxes, are carnivorous mammals that often hunt alone. Confining them into small spaces not only contributes to the epidemic, but is also cruel.
These furry species are highly susceptible to many human respiratory diseases, not just the H5N1 virus. At the end of 2020, Denmark – then the world’s largest mink farmer – was unable to control COVID-19 outbreaks in its farms despite many efforts, and discovered that minks were developing new variants that infect humans. Alarmed, Denmark suspended mink farms but is now allowing them to reopen.
We should outlaw cruel, dangerous and unnecessary fur farms and increase monitoring and reporting requirements for mammalian H5N1 outbreaks.
Bribing fur farmers in Europe and the United States may be cheaper than responding to a human outbreak, especially given that the industry is already in natural decline. Challis Hobbs, executive director of the American Fur Council, the association that represents mink farmers, told Roll Call that there are only about 100 farms in operation as more consumers turn away from fur. There are actually 257. China also operates fur farms but could seek an international agreement to tighten monitoring and even potentially impose a global ban.
Furthermore, situations like Poland’s mysterious cat outbreak should not be allowed to pass without a thorough and transparent investigation.
As we sadly discovered, borders and jurisdictions are details that the virus does not care about but remain unheard of around the world.