Genomic evolution, transmission dynamics, and pathogenicity of avian influenza A (H5N8) viruses emerging in China, 2020.

ABSTRACT: Multiple recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 viruses originating in aquatic birds frequently occurred in most European countries, Russia, South Korea, and Japan during the winter of 2020-21, and one zoonotic event of poultry workers infected with novel H5N8 viruses were reported in Russia. Strikingly, these novel H5N8 viruses had emerged and been co-circulating in wild birds and poultry in multiple provinces of China during 2020-21. In China, the population of aquatic birds has risen significantly in the past twenty years, and China is regarded as the largest reservoir for influenza viruses carried in aquatic birds across the globe. Hence, the co-circulation of these novel H5N8 viruses poses an alarming threat to not only poultry industry but also human health. In this study, we seq

SUBMITTER: Zhang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8206605 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature