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Title: Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus and generation of novel reassortants, United States, 2014-2015

Author
item LEE, DONG-HUN - Orise Fellow
item BAHL, JUSTIN - University Of Texas
item TORCHETTI, M - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item KILLIAN, M - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item IP, H - National Wildlife Health Center
item Swayne, David

Submitted to: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/20/2016
Publication Date: 7/1/2016
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62897
Citation: Lee, D., Bahl, J., Torchetti, M.K., Killian, M.L., Ip, H.S., Swayne, D.E. 2016. Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus and generation of novel reassortants, United States, 2014-2015. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 22(7):1283-1285. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2207.160048.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2207.160048

Interpretive Summary: H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) virus emerged in 1996 in Guangdong, China, and has since spread to infect and cause deaths in wild birds, poultry, and humans in over 65 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America. We analyzed genetic information on the recent H5 HPAI viruses and determined four genetically distinct subgroups emerged from clade 2.3.4 HPAI viruses in 2014: subgroup 1, H5N6 viruses (Sichuan, China); subgroup 2, H5N8 viruses (China and Korea); subgroup 3, H5N1 viruses (Vietnam and Sichuan, China) and H5N6 viruses (Laos and Jiangxi, China); and subgroup 4, H5N8 viruses (Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Europe, and North America) and H5N1 and H5N2 viruses (North America). These viruses were spread to multiple countries through either poultry trade or wild bird migration. Enhanced tracking of the viruses is required to monitor the development and spread of novel reassortant viruses.

Technical Abstract: Asian highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) viruses spread into North America in 2014 during autumn bird migration. Complete genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 32 H5 viruses identified novel H5N1, H5N2, and H5N8 viruses that emerged in late 2014 through reassortment with North American low-pathogenicity avian influenza viruses.