Characterisation of an avian influenza A virus isolated from a human – is an intermediate host necessary for the emergence of pandemic influenza viruses?

Aim. The circulation and transmission of pathogens is a global biological phenomenon that is closely associated with bird migration. This analysis was carried out with the aim of understanding and assessing the prospects of using the stable isotope method to study the circulation and transmission of the avian influenza A virus via migratory birds. Discussion. Insufficient data on the distances of migration of infected birds and their interpopulational relationships leaves open the question of the transmission of highly pathogenic influenza viruses (HSV) in the wild bird population. A deeper study of the role of migrations in the spread of HSV may possibly allow the more effective investigation of the transmission of the viral pathogen between individuals at migration stopover sites and the clarification of global migration routes. New methodological approaches are providing a more complete picture of the geography and phenology of migrations, as well as of the consequences of migratory behavior for species biology. The study of the quantitative component of migratory flows based on the analysis of the content of stable isotopes (SIMS) in bird tissues seems very promising. This method is being applied to the solution of various environmental issues, including the study of animal migrations. Conclusion. Based on data from the scientific literature, it is shown that SIMS is promising for the clarification of bird migration routes and the quantification of their intensity. The resolving power of the method is sufficient to determine the migration pathways of carriers of viral pathogens on the scale of zoogeographic subdomains and in even further detail. However, to date, there have been few such studies: in Russia they have not been conducted at all. The increased use of the SIMS methodology may possibly reveal new ways in which viral infections are spread via birds.

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In vitro demonstration of neural transmission of avian influenza A virus

Journal of General Virology ◽

10.1099/vir.0.80704-0 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 86 (4) ◽

pp. 1131-1139 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Kazuya Matsuda ◽

Takuma Shibata ◽

Yoshihiro Sakoda ◽

Hiroshi Kida ◽

Takashi Kimura ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

Influenza A Virus ◽

Intermediate Filaments ◽

Influenza A ◽

Pseudorabies Virus ◽

Influenza Viruses ◽

Avian Influenza A Virus ◽

Neural Transmission ◽

The Central Nervous System

Neural involvement following infections of influenza viruses can be serious. The neural transport of influenza viruses from the periphery to the central nervous system has been indicated by using mouse models. However, no direct evidence for neuronal infection has been obtained in vitro and the mechanisms of neural transmission of influenza viruses have not been reported. In this study, the transneural transmission of a neurotropic influenza A virus was examined using compartmentalized cultures of neurons from mouse dorsal root ganglia, and the results were compared with those obtained using the pseudorabies virus, a virus with well-established neurotransmission. Both viruses reached the cell bodies of the neurons via the axons. This is the first report on axonal transport of influenza A virus in vitro. In addition, the role of the cytoskeleton (microtubules, microfilaments and intermediate filaments) in the neural transmission of influenza virus was investigated by conducting cytoskeletal perturbation experiments. The results indicated that the transport of avian influenza A virus in the neurons was independent of microtubule integrity but was dependent on the integrity of intermediate filaments, whereas pseudorabies virus needed both for neural spread.

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Comparison of serum treatments to remove nonspecific inhibitors from chicken sera for the hemagglutination inhibition test with inactivated H5N1 and H9N2 avian Influenza A virus subtypes

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation ◽

10.1177/1040638712452732 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 24 (5) ◽

pp. 954-958 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hye-Ryoung Kim ◽

Kyoung-Ki Lee ◽

Yong-Kuk Kwon ◽

Min-Su Kang ◽

Oun-Kyung Moon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

Influenza A Virus ◽

Hemagglutination Inhibition ◽

Influenza A ◽

Influenza Viruses ◽

Avian Influenza Viruses ◽

Chicken Serum ◽

Hemagglutination Inhibition Test ◽

Avian Influenza A Virus ◽

Cell Adsorption

The hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay is the standard diagnostic test for detection of antibodies to avian influenza viruses. It is well known that chicken serum does not require additional serum pretreatment to remove nonspecific inhibitors (NSIs). However, NSIs were recognized in certain Korean local breeds. In the present study, various treatments were compared to remove such NSIs. Heat treatment, red blood cell adsorption, and kaolin treatment did not remove NSIs effectively, and treatment with periodate only partly eliminated the NSIs. Receptor destroying enzyme (RDE) treatment appeared to effectively remove NSIs from chicken sera, regardless of breeds. It is proposed that RDE treatment should be included in the HI tests for serological diagnosis of avian Influenza A virus.

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Development of Neuraminidase Subtype-Specific Reference Antisera by Recombinant Protein Expressed in Baculovirus

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology ◽

10.1128/cvi.00385-12 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 140-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kyu-Jun Lee ◽

Jun-Gu Choi ◽

Hyun-Mi Kang ◽

Kwang-Il Kim ◽

Choi-Kyu Park ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Influenza Virus ◽

Avian Influenza ◽

Influenza A Virus ◽

Diagnostic Tests ◽

Influenza A ◽

Recombinant Baculovirus ◽

Cross Reactivity ◽

Specific Reference ◽

Simple Method ◽

Avian Influenza A Virus

ABSTRACTOutbreaks of avian influenza A virus infection, particularly the H5N1 strains that have affected birds and some humans for the past 15 years, have highlighted the need for increased surveillance and disease control. Such measures require diagnostic tests to detect and characterize the different subtypes of influenza virus. In the current study, a simple method for producing reference avian influenza virus antisera to be used in diagnostic tests was developed. Antisera of nine avian influenza A virus neuraminidases (NA) used for NA subtyping were produced using a recombinant baculovirus. The recombinant NA (rNA) proteins were expressed in Sf9 insect cells and inoculated intramuscularly into specific-pathogen-free chickens with the ISA70 adjuvant. The NA inhibition antibody titers of the rNA antiserum were in the ranges of 5 to 8 and 6 to 9 log2units after the primary and boost immunizations, respectively. The antisera were subtype specific, showing low cross-reactivity against every other NA subtype using the conventional thiobarbituric acid NA inhibition assay. These results suggest that this simple method for producing reference NA antisera without purification may be useful for the diagnosis and surveillance of influenza virus.

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Characterization of a Human H5N1 Influenza A Virus Isolated in 2003

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.79.15.9926-9932.2005 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 79 (15) ◽

pp. 9926-9932 ◽

Cited By ~ 70

Author(s):

Kyoko Shinya ◽

Masato Hatta ◽

Shinya Yamada ◽

Ayato Takada ◽

Shinji Watanabe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Avian Influenza ◽

Influenza A Virus ◽

Influenza A ◽

Mainland China ◽

Virus Infections ◽

Influenza A Viruses ◽

H5n1 Avian Influenza Virus ◽

H5n1 Influenza ◽

Avian Influenza A Virus

ABSTRACT In 2003, H5N1 avian influenza virus infections were diagnosed in two Hong Kong residents who had visited the Fujian province in mainland China, affording us the opportunity to characterize one of the viral isolates, A/Hong Kong/213/03 (HK213; H5N1). In contrast to H5N1 viruses isolated from humans during the 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong, HK213 retained several features of aquatic bird viruses, including the lack of a deletion in the neuraminidase stalk and the absence of additional oligosaccharide chains at the globular head of the hemagglutinin molecule. It demonstrated weak pathogenicity in mice and ferrets but caused lethal infection in chickens. The original isolate failed to produce disease in ducks but became more pathogenic after five passages. Taken together, these findings portray the HK213 isolate as an aquatic avian influenza A virus without the molecular changes associated with the replication of H5N1 avian viruses in land-based poultry such as chickens. This case challenges the view that adaptation to land-based poultry is a prerequisite for the replication of aquatic avian influenza A viruses in humans.

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