Canine flu viruses Threatens a transfer to humans?

Researchers discover dangerous virus in dogs

A canine-transmitted flu virus has the potential to mortally infect millions of people around the world. The virus can apparently be carried by dogs of all kinds. So you better be careful when your dog sneezes the next time.

New York scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine have identified a virus that apparently can be transmitted from dogs to humans. This virus could trigger a major influenza pandemic and claim millions of lives. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "mBio".

Dogs are considered the best friend of humans. Researchers have now discovered that dogs can carry a deadly virus. (Image: Kristina Stasiuliene / fotolia.com)

Examples of deadly pandemics

A flu can truly take threatening forms, such as the so-called Spanish flu in 1918. At that time, this disease killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide, say the experts. The origin of this flu is said to have lain with geese. In 2009 there was the swine flu pandemic, which luckily turned out to be a lot milder. This disease was transmitted to humans via pigs. The swine flu caused the death of an estimated 245,000 people worldwide.

Man's best friend is now a threat?

The scientists have now found that common domestic dogs carry flu viruses that have the potential to spread to humans. This virus may make a person's best friend a serious threat in the future. For their study, researchers from the New York School of Medicine sequenced the genomes of a total of 16 influenza viruses from domestic dogs in southern China. These included segments that were similar to the H1N1 strain responsible for the 2009 swine flu outbreak, the authors of the study explain.

Flu viruses in dogs are changing

Influenza viruses have been observed in dogs before, but now the viruses are changing and interacting with each other, creating the possibility that they will continue to mutate and be passed on to humans, say the physicians. This is very reminiscent of the H1N1 pandemic in pigs ten years ago, adds study author Adolfo Garcia-Sastre of the Icahn School of Medicine. In 2009, experts focused on finding viruses in birds, but there was no monitoring in pigs. Then people got infected with the virus pigs, explains the expert further.

Domestic dogs possible carriers of the flu?

Previous research has found only pandemic-type influenza viruses in dogs kept in crowded conditions, such as in kennels and dog farms in China, where breeds like Golden Retrievers are bred for their meat. The sick dogs carrying the new viruses were taken to veterinarians in China for respiratory problems. The results suggest that domestic dogs should be considered as a possible breeding ground for flu, Dr. Garcia-Sastre.

Are humans immune to dogs H1N1?

The type of mutations of viruses that can arise in the dogs lead to the potential risk that a virus will be transmitted from a dog to a human. Now it needs to be investigated if people have immunity to dogs H1N1, adds the physician. If there is a high level of immunity against these viruses, they pose only a lesser risk. But dogs are another host in which the influenza virus has several genotypic and phenotypic characteristics, and at the same time is in very close contact with humans, the researchers explain , The killing of tens of thousands of chickens, for example, is the key to stopping an outbreak of bird flu and now imagine such a drastic measure in dogs.

Dog owners should not panic

We should think about better ways to reduce influenza exposure in dogs, Dr. Garcia-Sastre. A vaccine would be feasible, it would prevent transmission under crowded conditions, the expert continued. But dog owners should not panic now, guess the scientists. However, you should bring your dog to a veterinarian if the animal suffers from any breathing problems. (As)