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Mongolian horses are contracting H5N1 under the radar, says new study www.telegraph.co.uk
Horses are silent carriers of H5N1 bird flu, a new study from the University of Glasgow has found.
Testing of horses in Mongolia found that several had antibodies for H5N1, indicating prior infection. None of the animals had ever been reported as sick, however, meaning they can carry the virus asymptotically.
The findings raise concerns for people who live and work closely with horses and other equids – from American cowboys to Scottish crofters and their Shetland ponies.
The fear is they could catch the virus from their animals.
This year alone, over 60 people in the US – primarily agricultural workers – have fallen ill after exposure to infected cattle. If spillover events between wild birds and horses, donkey and other equids become more common, they could potentially become a significant vector for the virus.
The researchers took blood samples from horse herds across Mongolia and found “conclusive” evidence of spillover infections from wild birds. Among the 1,000 horses tested, at least nine had antibodies for bird flu.
The tests were conducted in Arkhangai Province, a wetland area with a large population of wild birds, and the Gobi Desert, a dry region with far less wildlife.
It’s unclear how the Mongolian horses contracted the virus, although millions of other mammals including cats, dogs, skunks, pigs, and even a polar bear have become infected by either consuming birds or coming into contact with their faeces, dropped into their environment as the birds fly above.
Last year, Mongolia experienced a deadly winter season known as ‘dzud,’ which killed millions of farm animals through cold and starvation.
It is possible that horses were forced to feed on the carcasses of dead birds, the natural carriers of H5N1, as much of Mongolia’s grazing land was frozen over. Though horses are herbivores, they will scavenge on meat as a last resort.
Wild birds infected with H5N1 have been found on every continent on Earth. The virus has been circulating in birds like waterfowl and ducks in Britain for at least three years and spillover events into mammals have occurred in animals like foxes and otters.
The virus can also spread between species, meaning that once it’s got into a herd, it could transmit between them, particularly if they are sharing the same stable, pen, food, or equipment.
It’s of particular concern in Mongolia, a country home to five million horses, almost two million more than its human population.
The animals are deeply embedded in the nation’s culture and economy and people live and work in close contact with the creatures, potentially increasing the likelihood of human transmission.
The Mongolian horse, a breed that traces back to the era of Genghis Khan, is used for many purposes like travel, herding, and sport. Horse racing in particular is deeply rooted in the country’s nomadic heritage, with school children often used as jockeys.
The creatures are also used to make airag, the national drink made from fermented horse milk and some are slaughtered for meat.
The fact horses can be infected with bird flu is a particular worry given the current situation in North America where H5N1 has spread rapidly among dairy cattle, the researchers said.
The virus could mix with others inside horses – a process known as reassortment – potentially creating a new mutant bird flu strain.
Horses can already catch equine flu, caused by H3N8, which is endemic to North America.
With the rapid spread of avian influenza among cattle in the US, the likelihood of horses and other equids coming into contact with infected cows – and the chances of horses becoming co-infected with both avian and equine influenza viruses and creating a new flu – significantly increases.
It’s the same process which triggered the 2008/09 H1N1 swine flu pandemic, where pigs were co-infected with avian and human flu and created a new, more dangerous type of virus.
It is also what was thought to have caused the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, when pigs in Haskell County, Kansas, were infected with bird, mammal, and human influenzas at the same time.
Published Date:2025-01-08
