Evolution of H5N1 avian influenza viruses in Asia

/ World Health Organization Global Influenza Program Surveillance Network , Jean-Thierry Aubin (1) , Saliha Azebi (1) , Amanda Balish , Jill Banks , Niranjan Bhat , Rick A. Bright , Ian Brown , Philippe Buchy (2) , Ana-Maria Burguière (1) , Hua-Lan Chen , Peter Cheng , Nancy J Cox , Alice Crosier , Aaron Curns , Frédérique Cuvelier (1) , Guohua Deng , Julia Desheva , Stéphanie Desvaux , Hong Diep Nguyen , Ruben Donis , Alan Douglas , Scott F Dowell , Tien Dung Nguyen , Lindsay Edwards , Keiji Fukuda , Rebecca Garten , Elena Govorkova , Victoria Gregory , Alan Hampson , Thi Khanh Hong Nguyen , Scott Harper , Alan Hay , Erich Hoffmann , Masaki Imai , Shigeyuki Itamura , Samadhan Jadhao , Patricia Jeannin (1) , Chun Kang , Jackie Katz , Jae-Hong Kim , Alexander Klimov , Yong-Kuk Kwon , Chang Won Lee , Yanbing Li , Phuong Song Lien , Wilina Lim , Yi Pu Lin , Jean-Claude Manuguerra (1) , Jean-Marc Reynes (2) , Claudine Rousseaux (1) , Maryse Tardy-Panit (1) , Phan Van Tu (3) , Sylvie van Der Werf (1) , Sirenda Vong (2)

1 IP - Institut Pasteur [Paris]
2 Institut Pasteur du Cambodge
3 Institut Pasteur d'Ho Chi Minh Ville

An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) has recently spread to poultry in 9 Asian countries. H5N1 infections have caused > or =52 human deaths in Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia from January 2004 to April 2005. Genomic analyses of H5N1 isolates from birds and humans showed 2 distinct clades with a nonoverlapping geographic distribution. All the viral genes were of avian influenza origin, which indicates absence of reassortment with human influenza viruses. All human H5N1 isolates tested belonged to a single clade and were resistant to the adamantane drugs but sensitive to neuraminidase inhibitors. Most H5N1 isolates from humans were antigenically homogeneous and distinct from avian viruses circulating before the end of 2003. Some 2005 isolates showed evidence of antigenic drift. An updated nonpathogenic H5N1 reference virus, lacking the polybasic cleavage site in the hemagglutinin gene, was produced by reverse genetics in anticipation of the possible need to vaccinate humans.

Domains: Infectious diseases; Emerging diseases; Veterinary medicine and animal Health; Virology

/ World Health Organization Global Influenza Program Surveillance Network, Jean-Thierry Aubin, Saliha Azebi, Amanda Balish, Jill Banks, et al.. Evolution of H5N1 avian influenza viruses in Asia. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2005, 11 (10), pp.1515 - 1526. ⟨10.3201/eid1110.050644⟩. ⟨pasteur-01836582⟩