By Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capitol Dispatch
As avian influenza is being detected in more and more dairy herds across the U.S., Iowa State University researchers have found a possible “why” connection to the virus being found in raw milk.
A study published this month by a team in ISU’s College of Veterinary Medicine found that bovine mammary gland tissue held receptors for the avian influenza virus, offering a potential explanation for how cattle are being infected.
Todd Bell, a professor of veterinary pathology and co-author of the study, said the idea to look at mammary glands as a potential entry point for the virus came after it was identified in raw milk. Two ISU alums in the spring identified an illness impacting cattle in Texas as avian flu, and ever since different teams at the university and in partnerships with other organizations have been working to tackle the virus and its spread from different angles.
“They really answered the ‘what,’ what was actually going on, what was making these cattle sick, which is a new and novel finding, and then our job, really, at that point as researchers was to understand the ‘why,'” Bell said. “We’ve never seen this before. Why is this happening?”
To understand the concept, Bell suggested thinking of viruses as like keys, and receptors are like locks to cells. In order for the avian flu virus to enter a cell and reproduce, it needs the right receptor. The research team found that receptor on cattle mammary glands.
Another receptor they found is connected to human influenza, Bell said, which is important because it opens up the possibility of a cell being infected by both viruses, potentially causing the creation of a new virus.
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