Bird flu can infect horses without causing any symptoms, according to new research, raising fears that the virus could be spreading undetected.
It’s another twist in the emerging threat of the H5N1 virus, widely seen as the most likely cause of the next pandemic.
Scientists at the University of Glasgow found antibodies to the virus in blood samples taken from horses living in Mongolia. Their results have been published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Image: The HPAI H5N1 virus. File pic: iStock
Professor Pablo Murcia, who led the research, told Sky News that the finding suggests horses worldwide could be vulnerable in areas where bird flu is present – and they could pass on the virus to humans.
“It’s very important, now we know these infections can occur in nature, that we monitor them to detect them very rapidly,” he said.
“Horses, like many other domesticated animals, live in close proximity to humans and if this virus was to establish in horses the probability of human infection increases.”
The team at the Medical Research Council-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research also believe horses could be a mixing bowl for new strains of flu.
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It’s already known that they can be infected with equine flu, caused by the H3N8 virus. But if a horse is simultaneously infected with H5N1, the viruses could swap genetic material and evolve rapidly.
The H5N1 virus has been around for several decades, largely causing outbreaks in poultry. But in recent years a new variant has spread worldwide with migrating birds and has repeatedly jumped species to infect mammals.
The virus is spreading in cows in the US, with more than 700 dairy herds in 15 states infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Almost 60 farm workers have been infected, though so far all have had mild symptoms.
Scientists are concerned that the virus is developing mutations that would help it survive in mammalian cells and have criticised the slow response of US authorities.
Dr Tulio de Oliveira, the director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa, who first detected the Omicron variant in the COVID pandemic, said he is watching events in the US with dread.
“The last thing that they would need at the moment is another pathogen that evolved and mutated,” he told Sky News.
“If you keep H5N1 circulating for a long time and across different animals and in humans, you give the chance that that can happen.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.