Virulence and transmissibility of H1N2 influenza virus in ferrets imply the continuing threat of triple-reassortant swine viruses.

ABSTRACT: Efficient worldwide swine surveillance for influenza A viruses is urgently needed; the emergence of a novel reassortant pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) virus in 2009 demonstrated that swine can be the direct source of pandemic influenza and that the pandemic potential of viruses prevalent in swine populations must be monitored. We used the ferret model to assess the pathogenicity and transmissibility of predominant Korean triple-reassortant swine (TRSw) H1N2 and H3N2 influenza viruses genetically related to North American strains. Although most of the TRSw viruses were moderately pathogenic, one [A/Swine/Korea/1204/2009; Sw/1204 (H1N2)] was virulent in ferrets, causing death within 10 d of inoculation, and was efficiently transmitted to naive contact ferrets via respiratory droplets. Although molecu

SUBMITTER: Pascua PN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3465388 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature