Influenza A Virus - in Non-humans

In Non-humans

See H5N1 for the current epizootic (an epidemic in nonhumans) and panzootic (a disease affecting animals of many species especially over a wide area) of H5N1 influenza

Avian influenza

Fowl act as natural asymptomatic carriers of influenza A viruses. Prior to the current H5N1 epizootic, strains of influenza A virus had been demonstrated to be transmitted from wild fowl to only birds, pigs, horses, seals, whales and humans; and only between humans and pigs and between humans and domestic fowl; and not other pathways such as domestic fowl to horse.

Wild aquatic birds are the natural hosts for a large variety of influenza A viruses. Occasionally, viruses are transmitted from these birds to other species and may then cause devastating outbreaks in domestic poultry or give rise to human influenza pandemics.

H5N1 has been shown to be transmitted to tigers, leopards, and domestic cats that were fed uncooked domestic fowl (chickens) with the virus. H3N8 viruses from horses have crossed over and caused outbreaks in dogs. Laboratory mice have been infected successfully with a variety of avian flu genotypes.

Influenza A viruses spread in the air and in manure, and survives longer in cold weather. It can also be transmitted by contaminated feed, water, equipment and clothing; however, there is no evidence the virus can survive in well-cooked meat. Symptoms in animals vary, but virulent strains can cause death within a few days.

"Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus is on every top ten list available for potential agricultural bioweapon agents".

Avian influenza viruses that the OIE and others test for to control poultry disease include: H5N1, H7N2, H1N7, H7N3, H13N6, H5N9, H11N6, H3N8, H9N2, H5N2, H4N8, H10N7, H2N2, H8N4, H14N5, H6N5, H12N5 and others.

Known outbreaks of highly pathogenic flu in poultry 1959–2003

1979: "More than 400 harbor seals, most of them immature, died along the New England coast between December 1979 and October 1980 of acute pneumonia associated with influenza virus, A/Seal/Mass/1/180 (H7N7)."

1995: "accinated birds can develop asymptomatic infections that allow virus to spread, mutate, and recombine (ProMED-mail, 2004j). Intensive surveillance is required to detect these “silent epidemics” in time to curtail them. In Mexico, for example, mass vaccination of chickens against epidemic H5N2 influenza in 1995 has had to continue in order to control a persistent and evolving virus (Lee et al., 2004)."

1997: "Influenza A viruses normally seen in one species sometimes can cross over and cause illness in another species. For example, until 1997, only H1N1 viruses circulated widely in the U.S. pig population. However, in 1997, H3N2 viruses from humans were introduced into the pig population and caused widespread disease among pigs. Most recently, H3N8 viruses from horses have crossed over and caused outbreaks in dogs."

2000: "In California, poultry producers kept their knowledge of a recent H6N2 avian influenza outbreak to themselves due to their fear of public rejection of poultry products; meanwhile, the disease spread across the western United States and has since become endemic."

2003: In Netherlands H7N7 influenza virus infection broke out in poultry on several farms.

2004: In North America, the presence of avian influenza strain H7N3 was confirmed at several poultry farms in British Columbia in February 2004. As of April 2004, 18 farms had been quarantined to halt the spread of the virus.

2005: Tens of millions of birds died of H5N1 influenza and hundreds of millions of birds were culled to protect humans from H5N1. H5N1 is endemic in birds in southeast Asia and represents a long-term pandemic threat.

2006: H5N1 spreads across the globe, killing hundreds of millions of birds and over 100 people, and causing a significant H5N1 impact from both actual deaths and predicted possible deaths.

Swine flu

Swine influenza (or "pig influenza") refers to a subset of Orthomyxoviridae that create influenza and are endemic in pigs. The species of Orthomyxoviridae that can cause flu in pigs are influenza A virus and influenza C virus, but not all genotypes of these two species infect pigs. The known subtypes of influenza A virus that create influenza and are endemic in pigs are H1N1, H1N2, H3N1 and H3N2.

Horse flu

Horse flu (or "equine influenza") refers to varieties of influenza A virus that affect horses. Horse flu viruses were only isolated in 1956. The two main types of virus are called equine-1 (H7N7), which commonly affects horse heart muscle, and equine-2 (H3N8), which is usually more severe.

Dog flu

Dog flu (or "canine influenza") refers to varieties of influenza A virus that affect dogs. The equine influenza virus H3N8 was found to infect and kill – with respiratory illness – greyhound race dogs at a Florida racetrack in January 2004.

H3N8

H3N8 is now endemic in birds, horses and dogs.