Scientists Find Asian Flu Can Enter North America Through Alaska

The new research led by MIT demonstrates that Alaska can offer a significant foothold, for Asian flu viruses that enable them to enter North America. The finding also stated that the region serves as a fertile breeding ground for new flu strains.

According to PHYS, the outbreak of H5N8, H5N1, and H5N2 in 2014 and 2015 that affected poultry farms in North America are resulting in the culling of nearly 50 million chickens and Turkeys. The new research finds that an epidemic flu, which originated in Southeast Asia, was most likely carried into Alaska by wild migratory birds.

The survey of the research is conducted by MIT postdoc Nichola Hill. The others scientists of the study of the research were Geological Survey, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Vanderbilt University, the Department of Agriculture and the University of California.

MIT has reported that H5N1 and other H5 strains have continued to circulate in wild bird populations, rising concerns that bird flu could spread again into poultry or into humans. The scientist has focussed on trying to understand how the viruses 'evolve in wild bird populations, with a particular focus on Alaskan birds.

Two leading researchers Runstadler and Hill have previously shown that reassortment occurs in wild birds in Alaska during the breeding season. The finding led them to hypothesize that Alaska could be the entry point for highly pathogenic H5 viruses from Asia.

Scientists have reported that once the virus arrived in Alaska, it began swapping with less harmful flu viruses already present in the Alaskan wild bird population. This genetic reassortment allowed the flu strains to diversify the ways that made it easier for them to spread among the wild bird population as the wild bird migrated south.

However, the researcher has also plan how human activities, urbanization and agriculture in Alaska and North America. Besides this, they also find out the flu virus ability to evolve and infect new hosts by changing the distribution and susceptibility of wild birds.