Emergence of a new designated clade 16 with significant antigenic drift in hemagglutinin gene of H9N2 subtype avian influenza virus in eastern China.

ABSTRACT: H9N2 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) pose an increasing threat to the poultry industry worldwide and have pandemic potential. Vaccination has been principal prevention strategy to control H9N2 in China since 1998, but vaccine effectiveness is persistently challenged by the emergence of the genetic and/or antigenic variants. Here, we analysed the genetic and antigenic characteristics of H9N2 viruses in China, including 70 HA sequences of H9N2 isolates from poultry, 7358 from online databases during 2010-2020, and 15 from the early reference strains. Bayesian analyses based on hemagglutinin (HA) gene revealed that a new designated clade16 emerged in April 2012, and was prevalent and co-circulated with clade 15 since 2013 in China. Clade 16 viruses exhibited decreased cross-reactivity with tho

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10467529 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature