Congcong Wang, etc.,al. Clade 2.3.4.4b H5 subtype avian influenza viruses circulating in wild birds continue to spread into domestic waterfowl in China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture
The clade 2.3.4.4b H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has triggered an unprecedented global panzootic since 2020. We previously reported that the clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses rapidly formed 16 different genotypes since it emerged in 2020 and four of them were detected in wild birds and domestic poultry in China before March 2022. To monitor the circulation and evolution of these viruses, we collected 60,286 samples from wild bird habitats, domestic poultry farms, and poultry slaughterhouses in China from April 2022 to July 2024, and isolated 30 clade 2.3.4.4b H5 influenza viruses (25 H5N1 and five H5N6), 19 of which were isolated from wild bird samples and 11 were isolated from domestic ducks and geese. Detailed analysis revealed that the 25 H5N1 viruses and the five H5N6 viruses formed seven and three genotypes, respectively, and only two genotypes of H5N1 viruses were previously detected and all other genotypes were newly identified in this study. These H5 viruses exhibited different pathogenicity in mice, ranging from non-lethal to highly lethal, but antigenically they were all well-matched with the H5-Re14 vaccine strain currently used in China. Our findings indicate that the clade 2.3.4.4b H5 viruses remain endemic in wild bird populations and repeatedly spill over into domestic waterfowl. Consequently, sustained monitoring of the evolutionary dynamics of clade 2.3.4.4b H5 viruses is essential to inform evidence-based prevention and control strategies.
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