Human seasonal H1N1 flu in Giant Anteaters

The natural reservoir for most influenza viruses is birds, especially aquatic birds, but some versions of the virus have also become adapted to the host cells of other species, among them sea mammals, horses, dogs and of course pigs and humans (among others). How long is the list? We really don’t know, as there has been little systematic inquiry into influenza hosts in the natural world. While human influenza is seasonal in the northern and southern hemispheres, where it goes in the “off season” is a matter of debate. Most flu experts think it remains at low levels in the community, spiking to outbreak levels during “flu season” for reasons that are yet to be agreed upon. Another possibility is that it remains in some unidentified non-human reservoir. And there is surprisingly little information about influenza in tropical climes (see this interesting piece by Declan Butler in Nature).

A paper just published in Emerging Infectious Diseases is a stark example that the virus could exist almost anywhere. The paper describes an outbreak with a human seasonal H1N1 virus in a colony of Myrmecophaga tridactyla, more popularly known as The Giant Anteater:

A colony of 11 adult anteaters (7 males, 4 females) and 1 neonate was housed at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The colony experienced an outbreak of respiratory disease beginning in February 2007. The anteaters were housed separately in stalls in the same building with shared ventilation, with the exception of the nursing neonate who was housed with his dam. There was no contact with animals outside the colony. The primary caretaker of the colony had no contact with other animals housed at the zoo. No other species experienced respiratory disease at the zoo during the outbreak. Only the primary caretaker had sustained direct contact with any members of the colony.

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