How the zoonotic disease Influenza D is spreading among US livestock: Shortwave: NPR

This story begins on a farm in Oklahoma over 10 years ago with a farmer and a bunch of sick little piggies.

“The pigs had difficulty breathing, possibly a runny nose, cough and potentially fever,” said virologist Benjamin Hause. At the time, Hause worked for Newport Laboratories, which develops custom vaccines for livestock.

Samples of sick pigs surprised the researchers: it was a brand new flu virus.

NPR Science Correspondent Michaeleen Douclef brings us his reporting on new animal viruses and influenza D, an emerging virus that is spreading among cows and other farm animals in the United States. Scientists have also found evidence of the virus in farm workers and other people who work closely with livestock.

The phenomenon of zoonotic spread – viruses jumping from animals to humans – is incredibly common. The question is: which one will trigger the next pandemic?

“New animal viruses are invading people every day. Several times a day. A scientist said they were like snow falling on humanity,” she told co-host Emily Kwong. NPR.

In today’s episode, Michaeleen and Emily discuss the importance of widespread viral surveillance to stop the next pandemic before it starts.

To learn more about how viruses spread from animals to humans, check out the series “Hidden Viruses: How Pandemics Really Startfrom NPR’s Goats and Soda team.

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple podcast And Google Podcasts.

This episode was produced by Margaret Cirino, edited by our executive producer Rebecca Ramirez and producer Liz Metzger, and verified by Brit Hanson. Our sound engineer was Margaret Luthar.