Detection and phylogenetic analysis of highly pathogenic A/H5N1 avian influenza clade 2.3.4.4b virus in Chile, 2022.

ABSTRACT: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A/H5N1 viruses continue to pose a significant threat to animal and human health worldwide. In late 2022, the first confirmed case of HPAI A/H5N1 infection in wild birds in Chile near the Chilean-Peruvian border was reported. Active surveillance by our group in the adyacent Lluta river estuary revealed an increase in A/H5N1 prevalence coinciding with the arrival of migratory birds from the Northern Hemisphere. Genomic analysis of A/H5N1-positive samples demonstrated a close genetic relationship to strains detected in Peru during the same period, which originated from A/H5N1 viruses causing outbreaks in North America. Notably, we identified genetic mutations that did not correlate with known enhanced transmission or binding traits to mammalian recepto

SUBMITTER: Jimenez-Bluhm P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10283444 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature