Evolutionary analysis of inter-farm transmission dynamics in a highly pathogenic avian influenza epidemic.

ABSTRACT: Phylogenetic studies have largely contributed to better understand the emergence, spread and evolution of highly pathogenic avian influenza during epidemics, but sampling of genetic data has never been detailed enough to allow mapping of the spatiotemporal spread of avian influenza viruses during a single epidemic. Here, we present genetic data of H7N7 viruses produced from 72% of the poultry farms infected during the 2003 epidemic in the Netherlands. We use phylogenetic analyses to unravel the pathways of virus transmission between farms and between infected areas. In addition, we investigated the evolutionary processes shaping viral genetic diversity, and assess how they could have affected our phylogenetic analyses. Our results show that the H7N7 virus was characterized by a high level

SUBMITTER: Bataille A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3121798 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature