May 10, 2024 — Cows have the same receptors for influenza viruses in their udders as humans and birds, raising concerns that cows could become „mixing vessels“ for the virus. Avian influenza Viruses spread between people.
This is according to a new study conducted by scientists at the University of Copenhagen and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis and published as follows. preprint research At BioRxiv.
The researchers tested samples of brain, respiratory, and mammary tissue taken from a small number of cows and calves. They stained the tissue and put it under a microscope to see what types of receptors were present. You'll find it.
They found that cows' udder sacs are packed with influenza receptors of a type associated with birds, similar to those found in humans. These receptors are the type to which avian influenza viruses, such as H5N1, can attach. There were far fewer receptors in the cow's brain and airway tissue.
„These results provide a mechanistic rationale for the reported high levels of H5N1 virus in infected milk and suggest that cows may serve as a mixing vessel for novel (influenza virus) production. „This suggests that,“ the researchers wrote in their study.
When animals act as mixing vessels, different influenza strains can exchange genetic material and form new types of disease.
Pigs can be infected with human and avian influenza viruses and were previously thought to be potential mixing vessels for viruses that could pose a pandemic threat, Statnews reported. New research suggests cows could be a mixing vessel for an avian influenza pandemic.
„A new preprint convincingly shows that the mammary glands of cows harbor receptors for both human and avian influenza,“ said Dr. Sam Scarpino, Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Life Sciences at Northeastern University. said in Xformerly known as Twitter. „As a result, dairy cows *might* have a similar potential as pigs to act as an evolutionary intermediary between avian influenza and human influenza.“
Birds have been confirmed to be infected in 42 flocks in nine states since late March, according to the USDA.