• 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.

Nature . The episodic resurgence of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 virus

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
Nature


. 2023 Oct 18.
doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06631-2. Online ahead of print. The episodic resurgence of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 virus

Ruopeng Xie[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Kimberly M Edwards[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Michelle Wille[SUP] 3 4 [/SUP], Xiaoman Wei[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Sook-San Wong[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Mark Zanin[SUP] 1 5 [/SUP], Rabeh El-Shesheny[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Mariette Ducatez[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Leo L M Poon[SUP] 1 2 5 [/SUP], Ghazi Kayali[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Richard J Webby[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran[SUP] 10 11 [/SUP]



Affiliations
Abstract

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 activity has intensified globally since 2021, increasingly causing mass mortality in wild birds and poultry and incidental infections in mammals[SUP]1-3[/SUP]. However, the ecological and virological properties that underscore future mitigation strategies still remain unclear. Using epidemiological, spatial and genomic approaches, we demonstrate changes in the origins of resurgent HPAI H5 and reveal significant shifts in virus ecology and evolution. Outbreak data show key resurgent events in 2016-2017 and 2020-2021, contributing to the emergence and panzootic spread of H5N1 in 2021-2022. Genomic analysis reveals that the 2016-2017 epizootics originated in Asia, where HPAI H5 reservoirs are endemic. In 2020-2021, 2.3.4.4b H5N8 viruses emerged in African poultry, featuring mutations altering HA structure and receptor binding. In 2021-2022, a new H5N1 virus evolved through reassortment in wild birds in Europe, undergoing further reassortment with low-pathogenic avian influenza in wild and domestic birds during global dissemination. These results highlight a shift in the HPAI H5 epicentre beyond Asia and indicate that increasing persistence of HPAI H5 in wild birds is facilitating geographic and host range expansion, accelerating dispersion velocity and increasing reassortment potential. As earlier outbreaks of H5N1 and H5N8 were caused by more stable genomic constellations, these recent changes reflect adaptation across the domestic-bird-wild-bird interface. Elimination strategies in domestic birds therefore remain a high priority to limit future epizootics.


 
Back
Top Bottom