Characterization of clade 2.3.4.4 highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza viruses in ducks and chickens

Honglei Sun; Juan Pu; Jiao Hu; Litao Liu; Guanlong Xu; George F Gao; Xiufan Liu; Jinhua Liu

doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2015.11.001

Characterization of clade 2.3.4.4 highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza viruses in ducks and chickens

Vet Microbiol. 2016:182:116-22. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2015.11.001. Epub 2015 Nov 10.

Authors

Honglei Sun¹, Juan Pu¹, Jiao Hu², Litao Liu¹, Guanlong Xu¹, George F Gao³, Xiufan Liu⁴, Jinhua Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
² Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁴ Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China. Electronic address: xfliu@yzu.edu.cn.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: ljh@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 26711037
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2015.11.001

Abstract

Worldwide dissemination of reassortant variants of H5 clade 2.3.4.4 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses has posed a great threat to the poultry industry. Here, we systematically characterized the H5N2, H5N6 and H5N8 influenza viruses in poultry and compared them with those of previous clade 2.3.4 H5N1 virus. All the three H5 subtype reassortants caused systematic infection in ducks, and exhibited efficient direct transmission in ducks. All of them were highly pathogenic in chickens; however, the H5 reassortants have reduced virulence compared to the parental H5N1 virus. Antigenicity analysis revealed that the current vaccines that are widely used in China may fail to confer protection against the H5 reassortants.

Keywords: Antigenicity; Chicken; Duck; H5 reassortants; Pathogenicity; Transmission.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Antigens, Viral / immunology
Chickens*
Ducks*
Gene Expression Regulation, Viral
Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / genetics
Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / metabolism*
Influenza A virus / classification*
Influenza A virus / pathogenicity*
Influenza Vaccines / immunology
Influenza in Birds / prevention & control
Influenza in Birds / virology*
Species Specificity

Substances

Antigens, Viral
Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus
Influenza Vaccines
hemagglutinin, avian influenza A virus