Last week, the Louisiana Department of Health reported the first human death as a result of infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, or bird flu. According to the state health agency, “The patient contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds.”
While bird flu still poses low risk for most people, the death highlights the urgent need to accelerate efforts to contain the disease. America’s leading research universities are crucial partners in these efforts along with federal, state, and local agencies. As we wrote a few weeks ago, many AAU members are hard at work searching for answers that could help us control the spread of H5N1 and find effective treatments. Here are some additional examples of how university research is aiding the fight against bird flu:
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The University of California, Davis is a critical partner to the state of California in protecting against the spread of bird flu – the university’s California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System is testing dairy cows across the state for H5N1 to “protect animal health and performance, public health and California’s food supply.”
Researchers at the university’s School of Veterinary Medicine also co-led and published a study last November highlighting the devastating effects of H5N1 on wild animal populations and the need for continued surveillance and testing for the virus in the wild. Scientists studied a breeding colony of elephant seals in Argentina and recorded a massive die-off of seals, including pups, in late 2023. Their test results confirmed that the seals had died of H5N1 and found clear evidence of mammal-to-mammal transmission. Scientists followed up on the colony a year later and found a dramatic decline in the number of seals.
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A study by researchers from The University of Wisconsin–Madison and Texas A&M University earlier this year demonstrated the importance of pasteurization in lowering the risk of bird flu infection through milk consumption. The research showed that while “consuming raw cow’s milk that contains H5N1 avian influenza virus poses an infection risk … a laboratory process that stimulates high-temperature pasteurization reduces the virus in infected milk by more than 99.99%.”
In addition, faculty at UW–Madison recently formed the Building Resistance Against Viral Entities (BRAVE) Innovation Center to develop genetically engineered chickens that could resist H5N1 and other highly pathogenic avian influenza strains, as well as other deadly pathogens such as infectious bronchitis virus. The center is receiving funding from the FDA.
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Research led by Texas A&M AgriLife is looking for solutions to control the spread of infectious disease between wild animals and livestock on shared rangelands. “We want to determine what we can do before a disease reaches the point of vaccinating humans; fix the root cause,” said Texas A&M Professor Sapna Chitlapilly Dass. “The root cause is the wildlife and livestock intermingling. If we can take care of that, we can prevent overwhelming the healthcare system, which took a beating during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic,” she continued.
The university’s necropsy team at its Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory is also helping dairy producers determine causes of animal deaths in the state. The team has tested cattle for bird flu and “regularly assists poultry producers with testing to ensure the chickens in the food supply are health and disease-free.”
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Universities are also playing an important role in educating the public and the dairy industry about how to deal with the bird flu outbreak and how to protect animals and dairy workers. The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has held several webinars for the dairy industry, and the Penn Center for Public Health at the University of Pennsylvania also hosted a virtual discussion about bird flu last year.
Find our previous story with additional examples about how America's leading research universities are contributing to the fight against bird flu here.
Kritika Agarwal is senior editorial officer at AAU.