• FluTrackers.com Inc. does not provide medical advice. Information on this web site is collected from various internet resources, and the FluTrackers board of directors makes no warranty to the safety, efficacy, correctness or completeness of the information posted on this site by any author or poster. The information collated here is for instructional and/or discussion purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose or treat any disease, illness, or other medical condition. Every individual reader or poster should seek advice from their personal physician/healthcare practitioner before considering or using any interventions that are discussed on this website. By continuing to access this website you agree to consult your personal physican before using any interventions posted on this website, and you agree to hold harmless FluTrackers.com Inc., the board of directors, the members, and all authors and posters for any effects from use of any medication, supplement, vitamin or other substance, device, intervention, etc. mentioned in posts on this website, or other internet venues referenced in posts on this website.
  • We are not asking for any donations. Do not donate to any entity who says they are raising funds for us.

Genetic Characterization of Continually Evolving Highly Pathogenic H5N6 Influenza Viruses in China, 2012-2016

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Microbiol. 2017 Feb 28;8:260. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00260. eCollection 2017.
[h=1]Genetic Characterization of Continually Evolving Highly Pathogenic H5N6 Influenza Viruses in China, 2012-2016.[/h] Li M[SUP]1[/SUP], Zhao N[SUP]1[/SUP], Luo J[SUP]2[/SUP], Li Y[SUP]3[/SUP], Chen L[SUP]1[/SUP], Ma J[SUP]1[/SUP], Zhao L[SUP]2[/SUP], Yuan G[SUP]2[/SUP], Wang C[SUP]2[/SUP], Wang Y[SUP]4[/SUP], Liu Y[SUP]4[/SUP], He H[SUP]2[/SUP].
[h=3]Author information[/h]

[h=3]Abstract[/h] H5N6 is a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and a zoonotic disease that causes recurring endemics in East Asia. At least 155 H5N6 outbreaks, including 15 human infections, have been reported in China. These repeated outbreaks have increased concern that the H5N6 virus may cross over to humans and cause a pandemic. In February, 2016, peafowls in a breeding farm exhibited a highly contagious disease. Post-mortem examinations, including RT-PCR, and virus isolation, confirmed that the highly pathogenic H5N6 influenza virus was the causative agent, and the strain was named A/Pavo Cristatus/Jiangxi/JA1/2016. In animal experiments, it exhibited high pathogenicity in chickens and an estimated median lethal dose in mice of ~10[SUP]4.3[/SUP] TCID[SUB]50[/SUB]. A phylogenetic analysis showed that JA1/2016 was clustered in H5 clade 2.3.4.4. FG594-like H5N6 virus from Guangdong Province was the probable predecessor of JA1/2016, and the estimated divergence time was June 2014. Furthermore, we found that H5N6 influenza viruses can be classified into the two following groups: Group 1 and Group 2. Group 2 influenza viruses have not been detected since the end of 2014, whereas Group 1 influenza viruses have continually evolved and reassorted with the "gene pool" circulating in south China, resulting in the rise of novel subtypes of this influenza virus. An increase in the number of its identified hosts, the expanding range of its distribution, and the continual evolution of H5N6 AIVs enhance the risk that an H5N6 virus may spread to other continents and cause a pandemic.


[h=4]KEYWORDS:[/h] H5N6; Pavo cristatus; genetic reassortment; highly pathogenic avian influenza; molecular characterization; phylogenetic analysis

PMID: 28293218 PMCID: PMC5329059 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00260
Free PMC Article
 
Back
Top Bottom