(NewsNation) — Bird flu is mutating, according to researchers at Texas Biomed, with nine unique strains found in a Texas resident.
In a press release issued Jan 15., the San Antonio-based research team said mutation was more likely in humans.
“The clock is ticking for the virus to evolve to more easily infect and potentially transmit from human to human, which would be a concern,” Luis Martinez-Sobrido, a Texas Biomed researcher, said in the release.
Earlier this month, bird flu hit a poultry producer in Georgia, the nation’s top state for chicken production.
The state’s Department of Agriculture announced Friday the agency had detected a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza at a commercial poultry producer in Elbert County. The agency suspended all poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets and sales.
According to the FDA, more than a dozen cats have been killed or made ill by bird flu found in raw pet foods. The cases were in Oregon, Washington, Colorado and California.
“The FDA is aware of reports of death or illness associated with uncooked food in 13 domestic cats in eight households, 1 exotic cat in one household, and an unknown number of animals at two sanctuaries for large felids,” an FDA official said in a statement, via CBS News.
Thus far, humans have largely experienced mild illness or inflammation from the H5N1 virus. Antivirals tested on mice with bird flu showed some efficacy.
“Fortunately, the mutations did not affect the susceptibility to FDA-approved antivirals,” Ahmed Mostafa Elsayed, first author of the Texas Biomed study, said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.