The highly pathogenic avian flu, sometimes called bird flu, has been confirmed in alpacas for the first time, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories.
The animals that tested positive were on a farm in Idaho, where the birds tested positive for the virus and were culled in May. The alpacas tested positive on May 16, the USDA said in a press release.
The USDA noted that the discovery of other infected animals on the same farm as the infected birds was not necessarily a surprise.
The genetic sequence of the virus isolated from alpacas shows that it is closely related to the H5N1 viruses currently circulating in dairy cattle.
There are more than 264,000 registered alpacas in the US, according to the Alpaca Owners Association.
Scientists have closely observed the H5N1 virus for about two decades. For most of that time, it mainly affected birds. In the past two years, however, the virus has infected a wider range of wild and farmed mammals, raising concerns that it may be closer to becoming a pathogen that can be easily transmitted between people.
Human cases have been reported sporadically around the world over the years, including three in the USAbut no person-to-person transmission has been reported in the current U.S. livestock outbreak.
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