Zhu W, Li X, Dong J, Bo H, Liu J, Yang J, Zhang Y,. Epidemiologic, Clinical, and Genetic Characteristics of Human Infections with Influenza A(H5N6) Viruses, China. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022 Apr 27;28(7)
The recent rise in the frequency of influenza A(H5N6) infections in China has raised serious concerns about whether the risk for human infection has increased. We surveyed epidemiologic, clinical, and genetic data of human infections with A(H5N6) viruses. Severe disease occurred in 93.8% of cases, and the fatality rate was 55.4%. Median patient age was 51 years. Most H5N6 hemagglutinin (HA) genes in human isolates in 2021 originated from subclade 2.3.4.4b; we estimated the time to most recent common ancestor as June 16, 2020. A total of 13 genotypes with HA genes from multiple subclades in clade 2.3.4.4 were identified in human isolates. Of note, 4 new genotypes detected in 2021 were the major causes of increased H5N6 virus infections. Mammalian-adapted mutations were found in HA and internal genes. Although we found no evidence of human-to-human transmission, continuous evolution of H5N6 viruses may increase the risk for human infections.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- Birth cohort effects in adults associated with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine effectiveness 6 hours ago
- Genetic Characterization of Swine Influenza Viruses in Thailand in 2019-2025 Reveals Novel Reassortants 6 hours ago
- Outbreak dynamics of high pathogenicity avian influenza virus H5N1, clade 2.3.4.4b euBB, in black-headed gulls and common terns in Germany in 2023 7 hours ago
- [preprint]The canine respiratory epithelium is a permissive ecosystem for influenza interspecies transmission and emergence 7 hours ago
- [preprint]Explainable and Calibrated AI for Decoding Host-Adaptive Changes in Influenza A Virus 7 hours ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


