this Finnish Food Agency Ordered this Wednesday Slaughter all foxes and raccoon dogs on fur farms in the country under what circumstances Avian Influenzathe purpose is to prevent the virus from mutating and infecting humans.
The measure, which Will affect 109,000 foxes and 6,000 raccoon dogsFinnish authorities this summer also mandated the culling of another 135,000 animals with valuable fur, mainly foxes and minks.expiration date Bird flu cases detected in 26 of nearly 400 fur farms Finland, most of which is located in the Ostrobothnia region (western part of the country).
The Food Agency said in a statement that they found There are signs that infection has occurred in farm mammals Not just in infected birds and mammals, this is a worrying sign that the virus is mutating. “We are not sure how widespread this disease is and there are indications that it can spread from one animal to another. Additionally, Worrying mutations discovered on some farms Tuija Gadd, a researcher at the agency, told YLE public television.
According to the entity, The longer the virus spreads between mammals, the greater the risk. The emerging variants can also infect humans. “The human seasonal flu season is approaching, and if these viruses combine, there will be a malignant mutationGad said.
So far, worrying variants that facilitate the spread of the virus to mammals have been found in the genomes of six viruses isolated from animals on these fur farms, including foxes, mink and raccoon dogs.Finnish organizations stated Working closely with EU reference laboratories In an analysis of virus strains found on these farms.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in July last year that Mammals such as minks provide an ideal mutation environment for avian influenza viruses, so it is possible that strains capable of infecting humans will eventually emerge. The risk associated with minks is that they have certain receptors in their respiratory tracts to which both avian and human influenza viruses can stick.