A highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus, isolated from the eye of a farm worker who became infected through contact with dairy cows, was lethal in mice and ferrets infected in a high-containment laboratory environment, according to a new study in Nature. The study investigators also found that the virus isolated from the worker, who experienced mild inflammation of the cornea (conjunctivitis), could be transmitted through the air between separated ferrets and might be capable of binding to and replicating in human respiratory tract cells.

A study from researchers at National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their collaborators revealed a significant genetic risk factor for kidney disease in people from Ghana and Nigeria. Their study demonstrated that having just one risk variant in a gene known as APOL1 can significantly increase the risk of developing kidney disease. APOL1 is important for the immune system and variants of the gene are linked to increased risk of chronic kidney disease. The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine and was conducted by researchers from the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Kidney Disease Research Network.