Florida dolphin found infected with bird flu

By Ernie Mundell HealthDay reporter

TUESDAY, April 30, 2024 (HealthDay News)

The H5N1 avian flu is making headlines this week, with new reports showing that 1 in 5 U.S. milk samples has found an inactive virus.

That means the virus infects mammals like dairy cows, and now researchers report it has been found in a bottlenose dolphin in Florida.

“We still don’t know where the dolphin contracted the virus and more research needs to be done,” said co-author Richard Webby. He directs the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds at St. Jude’s.

Scientists are increasingly concerned that bird flu has moved from birds to numerous mammal species, increasing the chance that bird flu will mutate into a strain that easily infects humans.

Currently, H5N1 is extremely rare in humans and only occurs after prolonged contact with infected animals. But when people are infected with the virus, it is fatal in half of the cases.

That’s why the emergence of H5N1 in yet another mammal is raising more alarm bells.

Recently reported in the news Communication Biology, Webby and colleagues say the University of Florida (UF) Marine Animal Rescue team was alerted to a bottlenose dolphin in distress in Dixie County, Florida.

In a post-mortem examination of the deceased dolphin, university scientists, along with experts from the Bronson Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Kissimmee, Florida, documented the presence of the bird flu virus in both the animal’s lungs and brain.

Other laboratories further confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus. The genome was compared to that of local birds, as well as viruses from seal populations in the Northeast. However, it is still unclear where the dolphin contracted the infection.

“This study was an important step in understanding this virus,” said study co-author Dr. Mike Walsh, associate professor of aquatic animal health at UF.

More information

Read more about the H5N1 bird flu at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCE: University of Florida, press release, April 26, 2024

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