Restori KH, Septer KM, Field CJ, Patel DR, VanInsb. Risk assessment of a highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus from mink. Nat Commun. 2024 May 15;15(1):4112
Outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b viruses in farmed mink and seals combined with isolated human infections suggest these viruses pose a pandemic threat. To assess this threat, using the ferret model, we show an H5N1 isolate derived from mink transmits by direct contact to 75% of exposed ferrets and, in airborne transmission studies, the virus transmits to 37.5% of contacts. Sequence analyses show no mutations were associated with transmission. The H5N1 virus also has a low infectious dose and remains virulent at low doses. This isolate carries the adaptive mutation, PB2 T271A, and reversing this mutation reduces mortality and airborne transmission. This is the first report of a H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b virus exhibiting direct contact and airborne transmissibility in ferrets. These data indicate heightened pandemic potential of the panzootic H5N1 viruses and emphasize the need for continued efforts to control outbreaks and monitor viral evolution.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- [preprint]Major change in swine influenza virus diversity in France owing to emergence and widespread dissemination of a newly introduced H1N2 1C genotype in 2020 1 days ago
- Coastal connectivity of marine predators over the Patagonian Shelf during the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak 1 days ago
- Strain-dependent variations in replication of European clade 2.3.4.4b influenza A(H5N1) viruses in bovine cells and thermal inactivation in semi-skimmed or whole milk 1 days ago
- Natural and Experimental Persistence of Highly Pathogenic H5 Influenza Viruses in Slurry of Domestic Ducks, with or without Lime Treatment 2 days ago
- Exploring surface water as a transmission medium of avian influenza viruses - systematic infection studies in mallards 2 days ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]