A New UTMB Study Uncovers More Risks in Bird Flu Transmission

A new study by researchers at The University of Texas Medical Branch has made public important findings about the epidemiology of avian influenza among dairy farm workers. The research reveals that bird flu may be more prevalent among those in close contact with livestock than previously understood.

The study, led by Dr. Gregory Gray, professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology in the Departments of Internal Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and Global Health at UTMB, found that farmworkers could be at a higher risk of contracting the virus than previously thought, emphasizing the need for enhanced surveillance and preventive measures in these high-risk environments.

In this preliminary study, the team of researchers found highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in 64% (9/14) of milk specimens, and 2.6% (1/39) of cattle nasal swab specimens. Further they documented a COVID-19 virus infection in the nasal secretions of a sick cow. They found the avian influenza viruses to have multiple mutations that could help to explain their unusual infections in cattle. They also studied blood samples from 14 dairy workers on two Texas dairy farms and found two (~14%) to have evidence of previous infection with avian influenza likely due to the avian influenza infections in the farm cattle.

"I am very confident there are more people being infected than we know about," Gray told NPR in an interview this week. "Largely, that's because our surveillance has been so poor."

"Understanding the epidemiology of avian influenza virus transmission in livestock farms is crucial to preventing future outbreaks. With such data, we can better protect the farms, their cattle and their cattle workers." Gray added. Professor Gray added that to be able to collect future such research studies "We need to find ways to fully protect the dairy businesses from any economic harm that might arise through such intensive study."

The study was conducted by a team of UTMB researchers including Ismaila Shittu, Diego Silva, Judith U. Oguzie, Lyudmyla V. Marushchak, Gene G. Olinger, Claudia M. Trujillo-Vargas and Haiping Hao, and John Lednicky from the University of Florida, Nicholas Schneider at Schneider Veterinary Services, LLC.