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CIDMATH/EAVE Seminar
Please join us for a CIDMATH/EAVE seminar, Wednesday, February 11, 12-1pm in CNR 1000.
Dr. Seema Lakdawala, Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory School of Medicine will present “Experimental Studies on the Pandemic Risk of H5N1”.
Abstract: Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) was introduced into U.S. dairy cattle in March 2024 and has since spread to 19 states, more than 1,000 herds, and caused 71 reported human infections. To inform pandemic risk assessment, we conducted an intensive surveillance study across 14 California dairy farms and detected infectious virus in both aerosols and wastewater streams, highlighting exposure pathways that could facilitate zoonotic spillover. Using the ferret model, we further show that pre-existing immunity to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus mitigates severe disease following bovine H5N1 infection, suggesting that population immunity may partially constrain clinical severity even as spillover opportunities expand.