H5N8 virus, a new strain of avian flu (HPAI), has been tracing an alarming path from its origination in China through South Korea, Russia, Japan, Canada, multiple countries in Europe and the central United States. Researchers believe that since its discovery in early 2014, the virus was carried from Russia to various parts of the world by migrating waterfowl in the autumn of that same year.
With this geographical relocation, the highly pathogenic virus has encountered and reassorted with various other strains of HPAI, creating new variations of avian flu.
That the virus persists for over a year, reassorts to create multiple new strains and exists primarily in migrating waterfowl are all cause for concern about the spread of HPAI viruses to other bird populations. Though it’s possible that these transmissions are inevitable results of wild bird migration, the spread does introduce considerable risk for the spread of the virus to aviculture and commercial poultry populations, as has already happened in Canada and multiple states in the US.
Though HPAI H5N8 does not appear to be dangerous for the waterfowl populations that are currently the primary carriers, the virus could be threatening to smaller, more susceptible bird populations.
The concerns about this virus are two-fold. First, the transmission of H5N8 bird flu from migratory waterfowl to commercial poultry populations can have negative economic effects on a local scale. Second, among wild bird populations, the virus could prove threatening to small, at-risk species. With both of these in mind, it is critical to continue monitoring the spread and development of HPAI viruses and consider the conservationist and economic implications among other concerns.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently working on a vaccination for H5N8, for more information click here.
