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Characteristics of the 2013 Influenza A (H7N9) Virus
Richard T. Ellison III, MD reviewing Zhou J et al. Nature 2013 Jul 3. Belser JA et al. Nature 2013 Jul 10. Watanabe T et al. Nature 2013 Jul 10. Zhu H et al. Science 2013 Jul 12.
A novel avian influenza A (H7N9) virus that causes human disease shows binding to human respiratory receptors, infectivity in multiple species, and respiratory-droplet transmissibility.
In March 2013, patients infected with a novel avian influenza A (H7N9) virus were identified in China, and by May 31, 132 cases and 39 deaths had been confirmed. This virus is a reassortant of three avian pathogens ? an H7N3 virus, an older H7N9 virus, and an H9N2 virus. Unlike patients with previous H7 infections that manifested predominantly as conjunctivitis and mild illness, most patients with novel H7N9 infection have developed severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Several multinational groups have now studied the biological features of this virus.
Zhou and colleagues assessed the receptor-binding capacity of three human isolates of the H7N9 virus and found that they bound to both avian-type (α2,3) and human-type (α2,6) glycans. In accordance with this capacity to bind to human-type glycans, the H7N9 strains could infect human lower respiratory tract epithelial cells and type II alveolar pneumocytes in explanted tissue. Testing of serum samples from 90 individuals of various ages revealed no evidence of preexisting immunity to the virus. Antiviral susceptibility studies indicated resistance to amantadine and rimantadine, but not oseltamivir or zanamivir.
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- See more at: http://www.jwatch.org/na31696/2013/...013-influenza-h7n9-virus#sthash.W6yLkpeO.dpuf
Richard T. Ellison III, MD reviewing Zhou J et al. Nature 2013 Jul 3. Belser JA et al. Nature 2013 Jul 10. Watanabe T et al. Nature 2013 Jul 10. Zhu H et al. Science 2013 Jul 12.
A novel avian influenza A (H7N9) virus that causes human disease shows binding to human respiratory receptors, infectivity in multiple species, and respiratory-droplet transmissibility.
In March 2013, patients infected with a novel avian influenza A (H7N9) virus were identified in China, and by May 31, 132 cases and 39 deaths had been confirmed. This virus is a reassortant of three avian pathogens ? an H7N3 virus, an older H7N9 virus, and an H9N2 virus. Unlike patients with previous H7 infections that manifested predominantly as conjunctivitis and mild illness, most patients with novel H7N9 infection have developed severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Several multinational groups have now studied the biological features of this virus.
Zhou and colleagues assessed the receptor-binding capacity of three human isolates of the H7N9 virus and found that they bound to both avian-type (α2,3) and human-type (α2,6) glycans. In accordance with this capacity to bind to human-type glycans, the H7N9 strains could infect human lower respiratory tract epithelial cells and type II alveolar pneumocytes in explanted tissue. Testing of serum samples from 90 individuals of various ages revealed no evidence of preexisting immunity to the virus. Antiviral susceptibility studies indicated resistance to amantadine and rimantadine, but not oseltamivir or zanamivir.
..
- See more at: http://www.jwatch.org/na31696/2013/...013-influenza-h7n9-virus#sthash.W6yLkpeO.dpuf