Fitness costs for Influenza B viruses carrying neuraminidase inhibitor-resistant substitutions: underscoring the importance of E119A and H274Y.

ABSTRACT: Influenza B viruses cause annual outbreaks of respiratory illness in humans and are increasingly recognized as a major cause of influenza-associated pediatric mortality. Neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors (NAIs) are the only available therapy for patients infected with influenza B viruses, and the potential emergence of NAI-resistant viruses is a public health concern. The NA substitutions located within the enzyme active site could not only reduce NAI susceptibility of influenza B virus but also affect virus fitness. In this study, we investigated the effect of single NA substitutions on the fitness of influenza B/Yamanashi/166/1998 viruses (Yamagata lineage). We generated recombinant viruses containing either wild-type (WT) NA or NA with a substitution in the catalytic (R371K) or framework (E

SUBMITTER: Burnham AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3993273 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature