Since 2002, H7 subtype avian influenza viruses (AIVs) have caused more than 100 human infection cases in the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, with clinical illness ranging from conjunctivitis to mild upper respiratory illness to pneumonia. On March 31st, three fatal cases caused by infection of a novel reassortant H7N9 subtype were reported in Shanghai City and Anhui Province in China. With the ability of H7 subtype to cause severe human disease and the increasing isolation of subtype H7 AIVs, we highlighted the need for continuous surveillance in both humans and animals and characterization of these viruses for the development of vaccines and anti-viral drugs.
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Viruses
January 2025
Département de Virologie, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Dakar BP 220, Senegal.
Despite extensive experience with influenza surveillance in humans in Senegal, there is limited knowledge about the actual situation and genetic diversity of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) circulating in the country, hindering control measures and pandemic risk assessment. Therefore, as part of the "One Health" approach to influenza surveillance, we conducted active AIV surveillance in two live bird markets (LBMs) in Dakar to better understand the dynamics and diversity of influenza viruses in Senegal, obtain genetic profiles of circulating AIVs, and assess the risk of emergence of novel strains and their transmission to humans. Cloacal swabs from poultry and environmental samples collected weekly from the two LBMs were screened by RT-qPCR for H5, H7, and H9 AIVs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFViruses
December 2024
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Influenza A virus (IAV) remains a pandemic threat. Particularly, the evolution and increased interspecies and intercontinental transmission of avian IAV H5N1 subtype highlight the importance of continuously studying the IAV and identifying the determinants of its pathogenesis. Host innate antiviral response is the first line of defense against IAV infection, and the transcription factor, the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), has emerged as a critical component of this response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
January 2025
Fujian Province Joint Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Prevention and Control of the "Belt and Road", College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Influenza A viruses (IAVs) are highly contagious pathogens that cause zoonotic disease with limited availability of antiviral therapies, presenting ongoing challenges to both public health and the livestock industry. Unveiling host proteins that are crucial to the IAV life cycle can help clarify mechanisms of viral replication and identify potential targets for developing alternative host-directed therapies. Using a four-dimensional (4D), label-free methodology coupled with bioinformatics analysis, we analyzed the expression patterns of cellular proteins that changed following H9N2 virus infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Immunol
January 2025
Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Understanding the naïve B cell repertoire and its specificity for potential zoonotic threats, such as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5Nx viruses, may allow prediction of infection- or vaccine-specific responses. However, this naïve repertoire and the possibility to respond to emerging, prepandemic viruses are largely undetermined. Here, we profiled naïve B cell reactivity against a prototypical HPAI H5 hemagglutinin (HA), the major target of antibody responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, 2-1-6, Kamikitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8506, Japan.
Background/objectives: In preparation for a potential pandemic caused by the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, pre-pandemic vaccines against several viral clades have been developed and stocked worldwide. Although these vaccines are well tolerated, their immunogenicity and cross-reactivity with viruses of different clades can be improved.
Methods: To address this aspect, we generated recombinant influenza vaccines against H5-subtype viruses using two different strains of highly attenuated vaccinia virus (VACV) vectors.
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