10 bush dogs at a zoo in England have caught and likely died from the H5N1 virus, suggesting some limited transmission between animals

By Jane Merrick

Policy Editor

March 29, 2023 1:33 pm(Updated 4:37 pm)

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/bird-flu-can-transmit-between-mammals-ukhsa-upgrades-risk-alert-2241050

Scientists are investigating the possibility that bird flu was transmitted among a pack of bush dogs at a zoo in England.

Ten bush dogs at the unnamed zoo died in what is being described as an isolated event last November. The H5N1 avian influenza virus was detected in the dead animals through retrospective sampling, the UK Health Security Agency said.

While mammal to mammal transmission has not been confirmed in the dogs, it is one line of investigation. There is a possibility that the dogs caught the virus through infected birds fed to them by zookeepers.

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In its updated risk assessment for bird flu, the UKHSA said the UK is currently at Level 3, meaning there is “limited mammalian transmission”.

This is a change in wording from the last assessment, when the alert level was described as “changes in the virus genome that could lead to mammal-to-mammal transmission”.

However, the UKHSA insisted the level of risk had not changed. A spokesperson said: “The risk to human health has not changed. As previously, there is low confidence evidence of limited transmission in mammals, but there is no current evidence that this risk is changing.”

A previous assessment defined the risk as spillover infections in mammals with non-sustained transmissions between mammals, and the scale of risk had been changed to provide more granular detail, a source said.

But scientists are on high alert for transmission between animals after incidents of mass infections and deaths of mammals in areas around the world, including farmed mink in Spain, seals in the Caspian Sea and sea lions in Peru.

There have been 23 deaths of wild mammals in the UK since the current outbreak of the highly infectious H5N1 virus began 18 months ago, including two dolphins, mainly due to isolated cases of animals scavenging on infected dead birds. The 10 bush dogs would take the total of wild and captive mammals who have died to 33.

Government scientists insist there is no change to the risk to human health, which is classed as very low.

Scientists at the UKHSA and the SPI-M group, which produced modelling of the covid pandemic for the government, have also revealed different scenarios for what would happen in a human pandemic of bird flu.

While there is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission, the UKHSA said it wanted to prepare for the emergence of novel influenza viruses.

The current risks assessment says the H5N1 virus can “successfully infect mammals and humans with high levels of direct exposure (for example, scavenger mammalian species, humans working closely with birds)”. There have been only seven cases of bird flu in humans since October 2021.

It adds: “Polymerase basic protein (PB2) mutations associated with mammalian adaptation, including E627K, are seen in mammalian infections. There is evidence of transmission in farmed mink and possible, though unconfirmed, transmission in populations of seals and sea lions.”

Dr Meera Chand, Deputy Director at UKHSA, said: “The latest evidence suggests that the avian influenza viruses we’re seeing circulating in birds do not currently spread easily to people.

“However, viruses constantly evolve, and we remain vigilant for any evidence of changing risk to the population. It is right that we prepare for the emergence of novel influenza viruses and we are working with partners to ensure that we have the tools and capabilities in place for these and other emerging infections.”

• 
• Published 03/30/2023 
• BenitoLink Staff
• https://benitolink.com/bird-flu-detected-in-two-dead-mountain-lions/

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The virus has not been detected in birds in the area where the cats were found.

An adult male mountain lion can have a home range greater than 100 square miles. Photo courtesy of Mountain Lion Foundation.

Information provided by California Department of Fish and Wildlife

In a news release on March 28 the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) said the Eurasian strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1), commonly known as bird flu, was detected in two mountain lions in Mono County in December 2022 and January 2023. While additional disease testing is being conducted to rule out the possibility of co-infections, HPAI H5N1 is suspected to be the cause of the death for both mountain lions.

According to CDFW, this is the second species of wild mammal known to have contracted HPAI H5N1 in California since the virus was reported in wild birds in July 2022. In January, the virus was detected in a bobcat found in Butte County. The new findings also mark the first detection of HPAI H5N1 in Mono County. To date, the virus has been found in 45 counties statewide.

“The Eurasian lineage of avian influenza is primarily a disease impacting birds but is occasionally being detected in wild mammals. We don’t expect this to have a population-level impact for California’s mountain lions or other mammalian carnivores, but it is a disease we will continue to monitor,” said Dr. Jaime Rudd, a pesticide and disease investigations specialist in CDFW’s Wildlife Health Lab.

“The main route of disease transmission for carnivores seems to be through ingestion of infected birds – typically waterfowl such as geese. Biologists following the movements of these mountain lions noted that they had preyed upon wild Canada geese in the past,” Rudd said.

The remains of the two mountain lions, who were related (mother and daughter), were collected from Mono Lake in Mono County on December 23 and January 14. Samples were submitted to the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory in Davis for preliminary testing. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed the detection of HPAI H5N1.

“The main pathological finding for these two mountain lions was encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain. Additionally, there were lesions in the lungs causing pulmonary edema. Much of the lesions in the brain and lungs were associated with the virus, but additional disease testing is being performed to rule out the possibility of co-infection,” said Rudd.

CDFW said both mountain lions were wearing GPS collars as part of population study by the Department. The mortality notification sent from the collar helped biologists track the deceased animals and allowed for their remains to be collected in a timely manner to perform necropsies and determine cause of death.

“HPAI H5N1 is still considered a low-risk zoonotic pathogen,” said CDFW Senior Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Deana Clifford. “It’s significant that the detections occurred far from the bobcat detection, and in an area where the disease had not yet been detected in wild birds. This means it’s possible that the mountain lions may represent detections of a new foci [area of activity] of infections for wild birds.”

Notwithstanding, said CDFW, the mountain lion and bobcat detections, infection of wild mammals with avian influenza viruses appears to be relatively rare. Elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada, periodic detections of HPAI H5N1 have been made in mammalian carnivores including foxes, bobcats, raccoons, skunks and bears. Detections in mountain lions have occurred in five other states. The virus has also been detected in a small number of marine mammals.

According to the Department the strain of HPAI H5N1 currently circulating in the U.S. and Canada has caused illness and death in a higher diversity of wild bird species than during previous avian influenza outbreaks, affecting raptors and avian scavengers such as turkey vultures and ravens. Mammalian and avian predators and scavengers may be exposed to avian influenza viruses when feeding on infected birds.

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CDC information

Avian flu detected in dead bobcat in Northern California | BenitoLink

NATURE04 April 2023

https://www.sciencealert.com/wild-elephants-appear-to-have-been-domesticated-but-not-by-humans

ByMIKE MCRAE

Juvenile elephants have a lot in common with domesticated species. (Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

Over many thousands of years, a species of animal that shared a close relationship with wolves slowly morphed into something that loves to curl up in your lap, get belly rubs, and eat kibble three times a day.

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These changes in dogs weren’t just behavioral. In fact, the changes in body plan – like shorter snouts, floppy ears, more expressive faces, less body hair, and prolonged infancy – are common to many domesticated animals.

An international team of researchers has now pointed out that similar features exist within populations of elephants, prompting the question of who or what might have domesticated them.

The answer the researchers propose sounds just as surprising: Elephants may have domesticated themselves.

On a fundamental level, domestication is the process of artificially selecting representatives from each generation of animal (or plant) that suit the best criteria for living among humans. Number one on that list has to be ‘play nice’. Nobody wants to wrestle a big, hairy mammal for its milk or risk their eyes for a morning fried egg.

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While many common traits might not be intentionally selected for, some genes go hand-in-hand with those for a docile companion, giving many animals a more slender, less threatening look. Termed ‘domestication syndrome‘, the collection of characteristics that go with calm, cute, and content animals might not help them in the wild, but it certainly makes them more suitable for human society.

Back in 2017, Duke University anthropologist Brian Hare took the concept of domestication syndrome a step further, speculating whether it might apply to us humans as well.

If we could pick which dogs, sheep, pigs, and cows should have babies based on their temperament and attraction, why couldn’t we have done it to ourselves?

Known as the Human Self-Domestication Hypothesis, it presumes our evolution was increasingly guided from the middle to late Paleolithic by a preference for less-aggressive, more pro-social partners.

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Consequently, there was increased pressure on our ability to communicate, facilitating complex language skills. Changes in how our brains function may have had an impact on our skull’s size and shape, not all that dissimilar to how skulls have changed in domesticated animals.

We might not be the only primates to have experienced this preference for a more peaceful, expressive path over a violent existence. Hare identifies our close relative, the bonobo (Pan paniscus), as a candidate for self-domestication based on assertions of the species’ lack of aggression compared with its other close relative, the chimpanzee.

Now African and Asian elephants are being nominated as two new examples of self-domestication, having arguably undergone similar selection processes as humans and bonobos.

The authors of this new study supplied an extensive laundry list of similarities between the groups that serve as evidence of a shared domestication process. For example, in all three cases, the jaw and cranium have changed shape, with jaws shortening or skulls becoming less elongated, and teeth reducing in number.

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Behaviorally, there’s a propensity for peaceful interactions, with examples of aggression tending to be proactive rather than reactive. Infants in all species tend to engage in social and non-social play that often facilitates socializing and bonding. There is also significant evidence of ‘alloparenting’, where offspring are guided and cared for by adults who aren’t their direct ancestors.

The team conducted a review of hundreds of genes speculated to be involved in changes to embryonic tissues considered to be in part responsible for domestication, finding some evidence that evolution has favored at least a few dozen such sequences in elephants.

The examples provided may be simply cases of cherry-picking what fits. For example, other animals that have undergone domestication develop into breeds with floppy ears and curly tails.

The researchers argue “domesticated species do not usually show the full suite of features associated with domestication”, as different blocks of traits can fragment and no longer undergo selection. Meaning elephants are less likely to lose the already evolved structure in their ears, given how useful they are for thermoregulation.

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To what degree the three species of elephants might or might not have taken the evolutionary road to pro-social, domestic ‘bliss’ depends mainly on whether the hypothesis itself makes for a good theory capable of explaining why certain social characteristics might be commonly found in diverse species.

If it does, we might find other animals on a continuum of domestication. Dolphins, perhaps, or various species of birds or rodents might have also undergone similar changes that favor degrees of social complexity over brawn and fury.

Once seen as an exclusive virtue of humanity, the tendency to prioritize peaceful guidance, complex emotional expression, and a general love for one another might be an option open to many social animals.

As with many traits that once defined our species, humans have simply taken domestication to the next level.

This research was published in PNAS.

The North Atlantic right whale has been entangled since at least February. Her location is being monitored, but weather has prevented further disentanglement efforts.

By Ross CristantielloApril 2, 2023

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As nearly 100 North Atlantic right whales gather in Cape Cod bay, one particular creature is in grave danger. A female, identified as #4545, has been badly entangled since at least February. She is one of only 350 or so North Atlantic right whales on the planet. 

• Endangered right whales pass through Cape Cod Canal, shut down waterways
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• Video: New footage shows whale breaching from on board the boat

The Marine Animal Entanglement Response (MAER) team from the Provincetown-based Center for Coastal Studies has been working on the whale and monitoring it since last Wednesday. MAER Director Scott Landry confirmed that #4545 was still entangled as of Sunday evening. Landry and his colleagues are monitoring weather conditions for an opening to continue working on the whale. In the meantime, her location is being constantly tracked using a telemetry buoy. 

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She was found entangled south of Nantucket in February, but the team could not respond due to distance and a lack of daylight, the organization said. At the time, all they could determine was that she had a long piece of heavy rope caught in her mouth. 

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She was spotted once again last week, feeding with a large group of the endangered whales in Cape Cod Bay. Since February, her entanglement has developed into a “highly complex and lethal” situation, according to the Center for Coastal Studies. They believe rope is still wrapped dangerously around the whale’s body and flippers. 

Last Wednesday, the team was able to remove about 200 feet of thick rope from the whale and attach the tracking buoy. Further disentanglement efforts are expected to be complicated, and the proper weather conditions for such a rescue effort are rare this time of year. 

“This is obviously a difficult situation. We worked very hard for this whale on Wednesday and she did all she could to avoid us. With the telemetry buoy in place on her entanglement all of our attention will be focused on trying again,” Landry said in a statement. 

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The whale known as #4545 is just one of at least 79 right whales currently swimming in Cape Cod Bay, The Boston Globe reported. About half of them were gathered near the Cape Cod Canal Saturday. 

The waterway was closed Sunday around noon so that a right whale mother and her calf could swim safely. The Massachusetts Environmental Police escorted the whales through the canal, the Globe reported. 

John Chisholm, a scientist with the New England Aquarium, documented the sight on Twitter. The canal was opened back up by 5 p.m. Sunday, WHDH reported. 

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While the whale and her calf swimming through the canal were unimpeded, the continuing entanglement of #4545 highlights the dangers facing these animals. The MAER has freed more than 200 large whales and other marine animals from entanglements since 1984.

“Whales can pick up gear from anywhere within their range and drag it around for weeks and months. Their range is huge, stretching from Canada to Florida. Using disentanglement as a tool for conservation is helpful but has its limitations. We have no control over when or where an entangled whale will be discovered,” Landry said in a statement. 

North Atlantic right whales are some of the most endangered whales on the planet. They got their name because whalers viewed them as the “right” whales to hunt due to the fact that they floated after dying, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They were hunted to the brink of extinction by the 1890s. 

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While commercial whaling is no longer a problem, entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes are the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale mortality, according to NOAA. Officials estimate that over 85% of right whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once. On top of that, rising levels of ocean noise caused by human activities interfere with their communication and increase their stress levels. 

Only about one third of North Atlantic right whale deaths are documented, and the species has experienced a spike in deaths since about 2017. Just 57 new calves have been born since then, according to NOAA.