Cross-Protection by Inactivated H5 Prepandemic Vaccine Seed Strains against Diverse Goose/Guangdong Lineage H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 A/goose/Guangdong/1996 lineage (Gs/GD) is endemic in poultry across several countries in the world and has caused sporadic lethal infections in humans. Vaccines are important in HPAIV control both for poultry and in prepandemic preparedness for humans. This study assessed inactivated prepandemic vaccine strains in a One Health framework across human and agricultural and wildlife animal health, focusing on the genetic and antigenic diversity of field H5N1 Gs/GD viruses from the agricultural sector and assessing cross-protection in a chicken challenge model.