bir flu
Genetic testing of the bird flu in a Louisiana patient found that it mutated inside of his body that could make it more transmittable. IBT

A genetic analysis of the bird flu in the body of a Louisiana man who contracted the first severe case found it mutated inside of his body, a development that could allow the virus to more easily spread to humans.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called the mutations "concerning" because it appears to be adapting, but cautioned that there is no cause for alarm because the risk to the public is low.

The CDC emphasized that no person-to-person transmission of the virus has been detected so far.

The genetic changes were not present in the samples taken from the backyard flock that infected the man.

"These changes would be more concerning if found in animal hosts or in early stages of infection ... when these changes might be more likely to facilitate spread to close contacts," the CDC said.

"Notably, in this case, no transmission from the patient in Louisiana to other persons has been identified," it added.

But experts fear that every case of the H5N1 virus provides more opportunity for it to adapt and ultimately find a way to jump from host to host.

"If there are all these people getting infected, that provides so many opportunities for the virus to better adapt," Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, told the New York Times.

"It has the potential to really harm a lot of people," she said.

The mutations may allow the virus to bind to receptors in the upper airways of humans, the Associated Press reported.

Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease researcher at the University of Minnesota, likened it to a lock and key.

The virus would need a key to turn a lock to access a cell, but the mutation shows that it may be altering itself to develop a key that works.

"Is this an indication that we may be closer to seeing a readily transmitted virus between people? No," Osterholm told the AP "Right now, this is a key that sits in the lock, but it doesn't open the door."

The elderly Louisiana man with underlying health problems became severely ill with bird flu earlier this month after coming into contact with sick and dead birds in backyard flocks.

The CDC said there are currently 66 confirmed cases of the bird flu in humans in the United States.

Originally published by Latin Times

CDC