Dataset Information

Analysis of Viral Genetics for Estimating Diffusion of Influenza A H6N1.

ABSTRACT: H6N1 influenza A is an avian virus but in 2013 infected a human in Taiwan. We studied the phylogeography of avian origin H6N1 viruses in the Influenza Research Database and the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data EpiFlu Database in order to characterize their recent evolutionary spread. Our results suggest that the H6N1 virus that infected a human in Taiwan is derived from a diversity of avian strains of H6N1 that have circulated for at least seven years in this region. Understanding how geography impacts the evolution of avian influenza could allow disease control efforts to focus on areas that pose the greatest risk to humans. The serious human infection with a known avian influenza virus underscores the zoonotic potential of diverse avian strains of influenza, and the need for comprehensive influenza surveillance in animals and the value of public sequence databases including GISAID and the IRD.

SUBMITTER: Scotch M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4525270 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Analysis of Viral Genetics for Estimating Diffusion of Influenza A H6N1.

Scotch Matthew M Suchard Marc A MA Rabinowitz Peter M PM

AMIA Joint Summits on Translational Science proceedings. AMIA Joint Summits on Translational Science 20150323

H6N1 influenza A is an avian virus but in 2013 infected a human in Taiwan. We studied the phylogeography of avian origin H6N1 viruses in the Influenza Research Database and the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data EpiFlu Database in order to characterize their recent evolutionary spread. Our results suggest that the H6N1 virus that infected a human in Taiwan is derived from a diversity of avian strains of H6N1 that have circulated for at least seven years in this region. Understandi ...[more]

PMID: 26306229

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundAvian influenza A H6N1 virus is one of the most common viruses isolated from wild and domestic avian species, but human infection with this virus has not been previously reported. We report the clinical presentation, contact, and environmental investigations of a patient infected with this virus, and assess the origin and genetic characteristics of the isolated virus.MethodsA 20-year-old woman with an influenza-like illness presented to a hospital with shortness of breath in May, 2013. An unsubtyped influenza A virus was isolated from her throat-swab specimen and was transferred to the Taiwan Centres for Disease Control (CDC) for identification. The medical records were reviewed to assess the clinical presentation. We did a contact and environmental investigation and collected clinical specimens from the case and symptomatic contacts to test for influenza virus. The genomic sequences of the isolated virus were determined and characterised.FindingsThe unsubtyped influenza A virus was identified as the H6N1 subtype, based on sequences of the genes encoding haemagglutinin and neuraminidase. The source of infection was not established. Sequence analyses showed that this human isolate was highly homologous to chicken H6N1 viruses in Taiwan and had been generated through interclade reassortment. Notably, the virus had a G228S substitution in the haemagglutinin protein that might increase its affinity for the human α2-6 linked sialic acid receptor.InterpretationThis is the first report of human infection with a wild avian influenza A H6N1 virus. A unique clade of H6N1 viruses with a G228S substitution of haemagglutinin have circulated persistently in poultry in Taiwan. These viruses continue to evolve and accumulate changes, increasing the potential risk of human-to-human transmission. Our report highlights the continuous need for preparedness for a pandemic of unpredictable and complex avian influenza.FundingTaiwan Centres for Disease Control.

Dataset Information

Analysis of Viral Genetics for Estimating Diffusion of Influenza A H6N1.

Publications

Analysis of Viral Genetics for Estimating Diffusion of Influenza A H6N1.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets