Avian influenza H7N9/13 and H7N7/13: a comparative virulence study in chickens, pigeons, and ferrets.

ABSTRACT:

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Human influenza cases caused by a novel avian H7N9 virus in China emphasize the zoonotic potential of that subtype. We compared the infectivity and pathogenicity of the novel H7N9 virus with those of a recent European avian H7N7 strain in chickens, pigeons, and ferrets. Neither virus induced signs of disease despite substantial replication in inoculated chickens and rapid transmission to contact chickens. Evidence of the replication of both viruses in pigeons, albeit at lower levels of RNA excretion, was also detected. No clear-cut differences between the two H7 isolates emerged regarding replication and antibody development in avian hosts. In ferrets, in contrast, greater replication of the avian H7N9 virus than of the H7N7 strain was observed with significant differenc

SUBMITTER: Kalthoff D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4136250 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature