Dog Flu Mutating Into a Virus That Could Infect Humans: Chinese …

Dog flu Is Mutating Into A Virus That Could Infect Humans, Chinese Scientists Warn Beware! Dog flu-causing virus is mutating and scientists in China believe that it has the ability to spill over into humans. Read on to know everything.

Are we not done with virus infections yet? From SARS-CoV-2 to Monkeypox, in the last 3 years, the world has battled several virus attacks. These viruses were all new to the environment and carry the ability to mutate and form new variants with more efficacy towards causing an infection. As the world continues to fight the virus attacks, Chinese scientists have issued a fresh warning against a new threat.

On Tuesday, Chinese scientists revealed that they have identified strains of the influenza A-H3N2 virus, which is currently circulating in dogs. And these strains have the ability to spill over into humans and cause virus infection, just like COVID and other viral illnesses. Speaking to the media, the scientists warned, "Humans could one day be struck down by 'dog flu' a mutated form of avian influenza which is slowly evolving."

In the study, a team of researchers in China analysed the swabs from more than 4,000 dogs. The findings, published in the journal eLife, stated that the H32 canine influenza viruses (CIVs) are mutating faster than usual and are able to recognise the human-cell receptors. This feature of the H3N2 canine virus makes it potential to replicate in humans.

In the published research paper, the scientists wrote: "We found that, during adaptation in dogs, H3N2 CIVs became able to recognise the human-like receptor, showed gradually increased hemagglutination (HA) acid stability and replication ability in human airway epithelial cells."

What is this H3N2 canine virus that scientists are warning humans about?H3N2 was discovered in dogs almost two decades ago. The virus infection can cause pooches to suffer from a runny nose and cough and can turn deadly in rare and extreme cases.

At a time when we are already dealing with rising COVID cases, the news about the certain worrisome mutation in the Dog flu-causing virus shouldn't be ignored. The reason why one should be aware of the infection is because of the fact that the human population lack immunity to the H3N2 CIVs, and even preexisting immunity gained from the present human seasonal influenza viruses cannot provide any protection against the H3N2 CIVs.

The H3N2 CIVs, also known as canine flu strains of H3N2 were first discovered in 2006. It has evolved from a strain of bird flu called H3N2. As per studies, the H3N2 CIVs can cause severe respiratory illnesses in dogs. Some of the serious symptoms associated with this virus are fever, sneezing, and coughing.

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Dog Flu Mutating Into a Virus That Could Infect Humans: Chinese ...