Texas Tech lab helps detect first case of avian influenza transmission from mammal to human

Texas Tech University's Biological Threat Research Laboratory (BTRL) played a key role in detecting the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A (H5N1) transmitted from a mammal (dairy cow) to a human.

The case was made public in an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Steve Presley, the director of The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) and the BTRL, and Cynthia Reinoso Webb, the biological threat coordinator at TIEHH, were co-authors on the journal publication.

The journal article explains that in March a farm worker who reported no contact with sick or dead birds, but who was in contact with dairy cattle, began showing symptoms in the eye and samples were collected by the regional health department to test for potential influenza A.

Initial testing of the samples was performed at the BTRL, which is a component of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Laboratory Response Network-Biological (LRN-B) located at TIEHH.

It's a huge thing that the virus has jumped from birds to mammals, dairy cows in this case, and then to humans. That's why this paper in the New England Journal of Medicine is very significant. It's going to lay the foundation, I believe, for a lot of research in the future of how the virus is evolving."

Steve Presley, Director of The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) and BTRL

The involvement of Texas Tech's BTRL is a continuation of the partnership between regional, state and federal public health partners.

"Being part of the CDC LRN-B, we have the standing capability to test for a lot of biological threats and some that are considered emergent," Reinoso Webb explained.

The lab's standby status allowed Reinoso Webb and the Texas Tech BTRL team to respond quickly to the needs of the regional public health authority. Knowing the potential dangers of the virus, Reinoso Webb pushed the testing into the safest laboratory available, and the team went to work. 

Having received the samples in the early evening, results were being reported to regional, state and federal levels within hours. By the next day the samples were on their way to the CDC for further testing and confirmation.

"We were on the phone with the CDC until around midnight discussing different scenarios and follow up requirements," Reinoso Webb said. "There is a lot of federal reporting. It was a very complicated case, even though it was two samples and one patient.

"But we had this wonderful communication with the CDC and made sure we did everything by the book. This is how it's been structured, and this is how the communication was supposed to happen."

Source:
Journal reference:

Uyeki, T. M., et al. (2024). Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Infection in a Dairy Farm Worker. The New England Journal of Medicine. doi.org/10.1056/nejmc2405371.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
A call for robust H5N1 influenza preparedness and response