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Cell
. 2023 Aug 24;S0092-8674(23)00891-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.011. Online ahead of print. Airborne transmission of human-isolated avian H3N8 influenza virus between ferrets
Honglei Sun 1 , Han Li 1 , Qi Tong 1 , Qiqi Han 1 , Jiyu Liu 1 , Haili Yu 1 , Hao Song 2 , Jianxun Qi 3 , Jiaqi Li 1 , Jizhe Yang 1 , Riguo Lan 1 , Guojing Deng 1 , Haoyu Chang 1 , Yajin Qu 1 , Juan Pu 1 , Yipeng Sun 1 , Yu Lan 4 , Dayan Wang 4 , Yi Shi 3 , William J Liu 4 , Kin-Chow Chang 5 , George F Gao 6 , Jinhua Liu 7
Affiliations
H3N8 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in China caused two confirmed human infections in 2022, followed by a fatal case reported in 2023. H3N8 viruses are widespread in chicken flocks; however, the zoonotic features of H3N8 viruses are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that H3N8 viruses were able to infect and replicate efficiently in organotypic normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells and lung epithelial (Calu-3) cells. Human isolates of H3N8 virus were more virulent and caused severe pathology in mice and ferrets, relative to chicken isolates. Importantly, H3N8 virus isolated from a patient with severe pneumonia was transmissible between ferrets through respiratory droplets; it had acquired human-receptor-binding preference and amino acid substitution PB2-E627K necessary for airborne transmission. Human populations, even when vaccinated against human H3N2 virus, appear immunologically naive to emerging mammalian-adapted H3N8 AIVs and could be vulnerable to infection at epidemic or pandemic proportion.
Keywords: H3N8 subtype; airborne transmission; avian influenza viruses; biological properties; ferret; zoonosis.
. 2023 Aug 24;S0092-8674(23)00891-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.011. Online ahead of print. Airborne transmission of human-isolated avian H3N8 influenza virus between ferrets
Honglei Sun 1 , Han Li 1 , Qi Tong 1 , Qiqi Han 1 , Jiyu Liu 1 , Haili Yu 1 , Hao Song 2 , Jianxun Qi 3 , Jiaqi Li 1 , Jizhe Yang 1 , Riguo Lan 1 , Guojing Deng 1 , Haoyu Chang 1 , Yajin Qu 1 , Juan Pu 1 , Yipeng Sun 1 , Yu Lan 4 , Dayan Wang 4 , Yi Shi 3 , William J Liu 4 , Kin-Chow Chang 5 , George F Gao 6 , Jinhua Liu 7
Affiliations
- PMID: 37669665
- DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.011
H3N8 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in China caused two confirmed human infections in 2022, followed by a fatal case reported in 2023. H3N8 viruses are widespread in chicken flocks; however, the zoonotic features of H3N8 viruses are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that H3N8 viruses were able to infect and replicate efficiently in organotypic normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells and lung epithelial (Calu-3) cells. Human isolates of H3N8 virus were more virulent and caused severe pathology in mice and ferrets, relative to chicken isolates. Importantly, H3N8 virus isolated from a patient with severe pneumonia was transmissible between ferrets through respiratory droplets; it had acquired human-receptor-binding preference and amino acid substitution PB2-E627K necessary for airborne transmission. Human populations, even when vaccinated against human H3N2 virus, appear immunologically naive to emerging mammalian-adapted H3N8 AIVs and could be vulnerable to infection at epidemic or pandemic proportion.
Keywords: H3N8 subtype; airborne transmission; avian influenza viruses; biological properties; ferret; zoonosis.