[Laboratory diagnosis and molecular characterization analysis of the H5N1 influenza virus isolated from the first human case in Shenzhen, China].

The tracheal aspirates and serum samples of a suspected human case of high-pathogenic avian influenza (firstly found in Shenzhen, China) were collected and tested by a series of assays. The results showed that the RNA extracted from the tracheal aspirate specimens of the patient was confirmed positive for H5N1 avian influenza virus by Real-time PCR. The H5N1 avian influenza virus was isolated from patient's tracheal aspirates on MDCK cell and was named A/Guangdong/2/06(H5N1). The viral load of tracheal aspirates collected at different time points were detected by Real-time PCR. The virus microneutralization and the antigenic ratio of human H5N1 isolated were also assayed. It was found that when the virus load decreased gradually after the disease onset, the serum neutralizing antibody titer in the patient increased to 1 : 160 and subsequently decreased gradually. By molecular analysis, the eight gene segments of A/Guangdong/2/06 revealed to be similar to that of H5N1 avian influenza viruses isolated from south China in 2005-2006. However, there were obvious differences in the gene sequence of the detected H5N1 viral RNA as compared with that of the strains isolated from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.