Can bird flu mutate and cause a pandemic among humans?

Scientists conducted a laboratory experiment in which they showed that under the influence of three simple mutations, avian influenza can get the ability to spread from one person to another.

But do not be afraid and look for a biological protection suit: the researchers did not change the virus itself (we've all seen enough films about catastrophes to avoid this error). On the contrary, these incredible studies will help scientists stay one step ahead of the virus in order to prevent its potential spread.

How dangerous is bird flu

Researchers are interested in a strain called avian influenza A (H7N9). According to WHO, since 2013, more than 900 people have been affected by this virus. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of cases were associated with people who work in poultry farming, since the virus itself is not able to spread steadily among people.

In the worst case, the virus can mutate into a form that can spread among humans, and potentially begin to spread like wildfire. Thus, scientists from California worked with various mutations of the H7N9 genome to find out what could help the virus spread among humans.

Simple mutations

Scientists have been working with a protein on the surface of the virus, called hemagglutinin H7. It allows the virus to communicate with host cells and infect them.

They found that this protein is capable of small mutations in three amino acids found on the surface of the virus, which allow it to better bind to the cellular receptors found on human cells, compared to bird cells.

In the laboratory, scientists produced these triple mutant hemagglutinins H7 and saw that they can successfully fix on cells in human tracheal tissue samples.

Will there be a pandemic?

Security rules prohibit the introduction of these mutations into real H7N9 viruses, so the authors of the study emphasize that they did not create the virus, but only used a benign fragment of it. Mutations with real H7N9 are experiments with the enhancement of the function of the virus, which are currently prohibited (for obvious reasons).

And yet, should these findings be frightened? It seems, still not. Fiona Kalli, a specialist in respiratory immunology at the Imperial College of London, says that the chances of simultaneous manifestation of all three mutations are "relatively low."

"This study will help us more closely monitor the risks associated with avian influenza and increase our knowledge about what changes in avian influenza viruses can be potentially dangerous," she said.