{"id":6992,"date":"2024-07-10T08:38:40","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T13:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/?p=6992"},"modified":"2024-07-24T12:45:33","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T17:45:33","slug":"if-bird-flu-sparks-a-human-pandemic-your-past-immunity-could-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/2024\/07\/10\/if-bird-flu-sparks-a-human-pandemic-your-past-immunity-could-help\/","title":{"rendered":"If bird flu sparks a human pandemic, your past immunity could help"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nature<\/a> Older populations might be more protected than younger ones because of exposure to \u2018matched\u2019 strains during childhood, but an H5N1 pandemic is likely to take a major toll all the same.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the H5N1 bird-flu virus spreads relentlessly in animals<\/a> around the world<\/a>, researchers seeking to understand how a human H5N1 pandemic<\/a> might unfold have turned to a rich source of clues: data on the immune system\u2019s response to influenza<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such information provides hints about who could be most vulnerable in an H5N1 pandemic. Previous research also suggests that, in a confrontation with the virus, our immune systems would not be starting from scratch \u2014 thanks to previous infections with, and vaccinations<\/a> against, other forms of flu. But this immunity is unlikely to prevent H5N1 from inflicting serious damage to global health, if a pandemic were to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From feathers to fur<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The H5N1 strain now running rampant began as a bird pathogen<\/a> before branching out to mammals. Classified as a \u2018highly pathogenic\u2019 virus for its lethality in birds, it has killed millions of domestic and wild birds around the world since it first emerged in 1996.1<\/a><\/sup> It has also spread to a growing list of mammal species, including seals<\/a> and foxes<\/a>, and has caused more than 460 human deaths since 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, the virus has not gained the ability to spread effectively between people, which has kept the potential for a pandemic at bay. But its repeated jumps from birds to mammals and evidence of transmission among mammals, such as elephant seals (Mirounga leonina<\/em>)2<\/a><\/sup>, have alarmed researchers, who warn that the virus is gaining opportunities to become adept at spreading easily between people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nature Older populations might be more protected than younger ones because of exposure to \u2018matched\u2019 strains during childhood, but an H5N1 pandemic is likely to take a major toll all the same. As the H5N1 bird-flu virus spreads relentlessly in animals around the world, researchers seeking to understand how a human H5N1 pandemic might unfold have turned to a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[37,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-avian-influenza","category-clinical-considerations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6993,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6992\/revisions\/6993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}