(Edited by Sun Yaqi).
According to a comprehensive multi-network report, from December 2023 to February 2024, H5N1 virus, prions, and hantaviruses have been detected in different animals, increasing the mortality rate of wild animals such as polar bears and elk, and the risk of these viruses infecting humans cannot be ruled out.
The world's first case of death from a polar bear infected with the H5N1 virus has occurred near Utchagvik, the northernmost tip of Alaska, and it is suspected that it had previously eaten the carcass of infected birds. The death of the polar bear shows that the effects of avian influenza have extended beyond poultry and further threatens the survival of mammals. Since 2021, the current round of avian influenza has killed thousands of mammals, including foxes, black bears and brown bears.
The first case of "zombie deer" disease was found in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. It is a "chronic wasting disease" caused by prions that causes deer to lose weight, fall, and develop symptoms such as listlessness. The saliva, urine, feces, blood, and antler velvet of infected animals can carry pathogens and remain infectious in the environment for long periods of time. The possibility of cross-species transmission of the virus to humans has not been ruled out.
A new virus called hantavirus has been detected in cotton rats in the prairie of Arkansas, USA. Hantavirus is a zoonotic virus that is mostly found in rodents and can be transmitted from rodents to humans, causing fatal heart and lung disease. There is no clear vaccine blocking measure for the virus for the time being, and there is a potential threat to human public health.