Moving Past ‘Wait and See’ on Avian Influenza
In 2025, avian influenza has infected 168 million chickens, raising egg prices dramatically. Also infected are approximately 13,000 wild birds, 996 dairy herds, and 64 humans.
Scientists watch this virus carefully to understand its transmission pathways—and for signs that humans might be in one of those pathways. While we learn a lot by watching what the virus does next, a team of UGA One Health researchers is taking a more proactive approach to anticipating its spread.
Developing the first chicken lung organoids—artificially grown masses of cells that mimic the biological complexity of natural cells—from pathogen-free White Leghorn chickens, the research team has constructed a realistic lab environment that will later allow them to simulate viral transmission between members of a given species and from one species to another.
Using imaging techniques such as histology, immunostaining, and electron microsopy, the team confirmed that the organoids’ structural complexity and gene expression made them a relevant tool for studying how the virus interacts with lung tissue. This model provides a new way to explore viral behavior, disease mechanisms, and potential antiviral targets in a system that closely mimics the biology of the host. It is also ethically superior as it does not involve the use of live animals.
Building on these findings, the research team plans to co-culture airway organoids from various animal species with the H5N1 virus to explore key evolutionary pathways and host-virus interactions that drive viral adaptation and spillover. Identifying the molecular signatures that predict transmission will inform design of species-specific countermeasures intended to lessen or even prevent such transmission.
The goal of all this work is to develop targeted interventions, enhance surveillance strategies, and guide evidence-based policies to mitigate future outbreaks. Ultimately, the research also helps advance pandemic preparedness, safeguard global food security, and address zoonotic influenza’s escalating threat to human health.
The research team includes scientists from the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine (Mochel, Zdyrski, Nicholson, Allenspach, Sundaram), Iowa State University (Carnaccini) and the School of Medicine at Emory (Lowen, Lakdawala).
If you are interested in learning more about this work and how you might support it, contact Jon P. Mochel at jpmochel@uga.edu.