Il virus H3N2best known as responsible for thebird flufor some years it has evolved to adapt to mammals arriving to affect i dogs. This new strain is called «dog flu» o «dog flu». The virus would not be particularly dangerous for four-legged friends but researchers are concerned about a possible leap of species that affects humans.
Research has established how the new strain responsible for canine flu has evolved so much that it is able to pass from mammal to mammal affecting humans.
Canine flu can infect humans: researchers sound the alarm
Canine flu has been affecting dogs since 2006. It is the same strain responsible for avian flu which, as it evolved, affected mammals. A virus that doesn’t seem to be a worrying threat to the health of our four-legged friends. The concern of the researchers concerns the possible leap of species and the consequent transmission from man to man. Traditionally, bird flu can infect humans but cannot be transmitted from person to person.
With the mutation of the canine strain and the passage from mammal to mammal it can happen that the leap of species occurs with a transmission also from man to man. A research from the China Agricultural University published in the magazine eLife.
The researchers analyzed the results of 4,000 swabs taken on dogs infected with canine flu precisely discovering the mutation and the greatest adaptation to the conditions of human cells. “Our results showed that dogs can serve as intermediaries for the adaptation of avian influenza viruses to humans.» – wrote the authors of the research.
There is therefore some concern even if it must be said that at the moment the researchers have only analyzed dogs living in China. It would take global research to understand if canine flu is evolving like this around the world. Only then could one speak of a global threat.
Fear but not too much
“The virus does not appear to pose a particularly concerning health threat to dogs – one might be more concerned about the long-term pandemic potential in other species such as humans.” – revealed James Wood, head of the department of veterinary medicine at the University of Cambridge.
To date, no case of canine flu passing from dog to man has been recorded in the world and it should be specified that even researchers agree that no restriction should be applied to the relationship between man and dog. There’s no reason to panic if you have a dog at home.
There are no fears, the research has only highlighted a probability that the virus could find suitable terrain for the passage to human beings but it is not certain that it will do so, just as it is not certain that it could represent a health hazard.