Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2016/07/avian-flu-scan-jul-19-2016
Avian Flu Scan for Jul 19, 2016
New H5N1 outbreaks in France; H5N6 evolution clues
Filed Under:
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
[h=3]More than 6,000 chickens, ducks infected with H5N1 in southwest France[/h] After a quiet 3 months, France is reporting avian flu activity in the southwestern part of the country, according to Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease blog. The 2 new outbreaks raise the total number of French outbreaks to 79 since November of 2015.
Translated reports from the French Ministry of Agriculture detailed an outbreak of H5N1 in the department of Dordogne in outdoor chickens. On Jul 18, 4,400 infected outdoor chickens were found on a farm in the town of Ladornac. Dordogne saw 15 outbreaks of H5N1 over the winter, with the most recent outbreak in late February.
The second outbreak was in in Aveyron, where 2,080 ducks were infected on a farm in Vareilles. According to Avian Flu Diary, this is the first outbreak of H5N1 in Aveyron.
To date, all French outbreaks have been located in the southwest and have not caused illness in humans. The highly pathogenic avian flu strains are of European origin.
Jul 19 Avian Flu Diary report
[h=3]Chinese waterfowl samples shed light on H5N6 evolution[/h] Migratory waterfowl may play a role in spreading novel H5N6 avian flu in China, according to a genetic analysis of three viruses from fecal samples collected during surveillance in Hubei province wetlands, Chinese researchers reported today in Nature Medicine.
Phylogenetic reconstruction of all eight segments also yielded new clues about the evolution of the virus, which is closely related to the ones that caused the first known human infection involving the strain in 2014. So far 15 cases have been reported, 9 of them fatal. All were in China.
The investigators found that the virus's hemagglutinin originated from H5N2 avian flu, and the neuraminidase came from H6N6. The six internal genes are all from H5N1.
The group's study of the genetic family tree suggests that reassortment took place in eastern China from 2012 to 2013. They also traced the virus to southern China, where it spread to other areas in the eastern part of the country.
In receptor-binding experiments, the researchers found that the waterfowl version of H5N6 had human-type binding activity, hinting at a possible risk to humans.
Jul 19 Nat Med study
Avian Flu Scan for Jul 19, 2016
New H5N1 outbreaks in France; H5N6 evolution clues
Filed Under:
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
[h=3]More than 6,000 chickens, ducks infected with H5N1 in southwest France[/h] After a quiet 3 months, France is reporting avian flu activity in the southwestern part of the country, according to Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease blog. The 2 new outbreaks raise the total number of French outbreaks to 79 since November of 2015.
Translated reports from the French Ministry of Agriculture detailed an outbreak of H5N1 in the department of Dordogne in outdoor chickens. On Jul 18, 4,400 infected outdoor chickens were found on a farm in the town of Ladornac. Dordogne saw 15 outbreaks of H5N1 over the winter, with the most recent outbreak in late February.
The second outbreak was in in Aveyron, where 2,080 ducks were infected on a farm in Vareilles. According to Avian Flu Diary, this is the first outbreak of H5N1 in Aveyron.
To date, all French outbreaks have been located in the southwest and have not caused illness in humans. The highly pathogenic avian flu strains are of European origin.
Jul 19 Avian Flu Diary report
[h=3]Chinese waterfowl samples shed light on H5N6 evolution[/h] Migratory waterfowl may play a role in spreading novel H5N6 avian flu in China, according to a genetic analysis of three viruses from fecal samples collected during surveillance in Hubei province wetlands, Chinese researchers reported today in Nature Medicine.
Phylogenetic reconstruction of all eight segments also yielded new clues about the evolution of the virus, which is closely related to the ones that caused the first known human infection involving the strain in 2014. So far 15 cases have been reported, 9 of them fatal. All were in China.
The investigators found that the virus's hemagglutinin originated from H5N2 avian flu, and the neuraminidase came from H6N6. The six internal genes are all from H5N1.
The group's study of the genetic family tree suggests that reassortment took place in eastern China from 2012 to 2013. They also traced the virus to southern China, where it spread to other areas in the eastern part of the country.
In receptor-binding experiments, the researchers found that the waterfowl version of H5N6 had human-type binding activity, hinting at a possible risk to humans.
Jul 19 Nat Med study