A strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus, identified in a Texas dairy worker infected earlier this spring, demonstrated airborne transmission between ferrets—albeit with limited efficiency—and resulted in 100% mortality among infected animals in studies conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison earlier this year.
The good news: the dairy worker experienced mild symptoms and fully recovered, and the H5N1 strain that infected the worker does not appear to have continued spreading in the wild.
Still, the findings highlight the risks posed by a virus that continues to spread among dairy cattle and occasionally to farm workers, and the study’s lead scientist says he was surprised by the ease with which this particular strain was able to kill ferrets.
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