Certain strains of bird flu spread 'efficiently' among ferrets, suggest potential for human transmission: new research

New Canadian research has found that certain strains of bird flu, responsible for the deaths of millions of birds worldwide, are capable of spreading quickly and 'efficiently' between ferrets in a laboratory setting, raising alarm bells that it may be able to jump species to humans as well.

New Canadian research has found that certain strains of bird flu, responsible for the deaths of millions of birds worldwide, are capable of spreading quickly and “efficiently” between ferrets in a laboratory setting, raising alarm bells that it may be able to jump species to humans as well.

Avian influenza — known more commonly as bird flu — has been spreading across Canada in farmed birds since 2021, with more than 7.5 million birds impacted as of last week, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Human infections of bird flu are rare, and mostly occur after close contact with infected birds through poultry farms or live bird markets.

The real concern would be if the virus were able to make the full jump to humans, and then be spread from human to human — a possibility that scientists have been keeping an eye on.

In this new study, released in a preprint this week, researchers with the Public Health Agency of Canada, CFIA, SickKids Research Institute and the University of Manitoba, among others, are reporting that a specific strain of bird flu was able to spread easily among mammals in a lab setting.

Specifically, they found that samples of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) taken from a red-tailed hawk were able to spread “efficiently” in direct contact between ferrets, the mammal used most often to judge the risk of a virus achieving human-to-human transmission.

“Highly pathogenic” refers to the virus’ ability to create disease, underlining how dangerous H5N1 is.