Bat influenza

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Bat influenza is a type of influenza A viruses found in bats. [1] Bats were not considered to host Influenza A viruses until 2012-2013, when two phylogenetically distinct lineages, designated Influenza A virus subtype H17N10 and H18N11, were identified in Central and South American bats.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Discovery

The species of bats currently known to carry bat influenza are common in Central and South America. [1] The first bat flu virus, IAV H17N10, was first discovered in 2009 in little yellow-shouldered bats (Sturnira lilium) in Guatemala. [1] In 2012 a novel influenza virus (H18N11) was discovered in bats in South America. This strain was found to be divergent from the better-understood Influenza A viruses most commonly found in fowls and humans. [2] The complete sequence of IAV H17N10 was extracted from Sturnira lilium in 2012. In 2013, the sequence of IAV H18N11 was extracted from flat-faced fruit-eating bats (Artibeus planirostris) from Peru. [3] [4] [5] In contrast to human and avian influenza A viruses that use sialic acid receptors, the bat flu strains H17N10 and H18N11 infect cells by using major histocompatibility complex class II molecules on the host cell surface. [6]

Other species

Influenza A viruses circulate among a wide variety of species, being able to cross species barriers and establish new virus lineages in birds and mammals. [5] However, bat influenza viruses of the H18N11 subtype have been found to be poorly adapted to non-bat species. [7]

Infection in humans

As of 2019, no cases of influenza in humans have been definitively linked to bats. [8] Research suggests that human cells do not support growth of bat flu viruses in the test tube, implying that these viruses would need to undergo significant changes to adapt and easily infect humans. However, a transmission potential has been found, but the mechanism of transmission from bats to humans differs from that from other species. [8] It has been argued that bat flu viruses could become capable of infecting humans by exchanging genetic information with human flu viruses through reassortment. [1]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avian influenza</span> Influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds

Avian influenza, also known as avian flu, is a bird flu caused by the influenza A virus, which can infect people. It is similar to other types of animal flu in that it is caused by a virus strain that has adapted to a specific host. The type with the greatest risk is highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antigenic shift</span> Process by which two or more different strains of a virus combine to form a new subtype

Antigenic shift is the process by which two or more different strains of a virus, or strains of two or more different viruses, combine to form a new subtype having a mixture of the surface antigens of the two or more original strains. The term is often applied specifically to influenza, as that is the best-known example, but the process is also known to occur with other viruses, such as visna virus in sheep. Antigenic shift is a specific case of reassortment or viral shift that confers a phenotypic change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemagglutinin (influenza)</span> Hemagglutinin of influenza virus

Influenza hemagglutinin (HA) or haemagglutinin[p] is a homotrimeric glycoprotein found on the surface of influenza viruses and is integral to its infectivity.

<i>Orthomyxoviridae</i> Family of RNA viruses including the influenza viruses

Orthomyxoviridae is a family of negative-sense RNA viruses. It includes seven genera: Alphainfluenzavirus, Betainfluenzavirus, Gammainfluenzavirus, Deltainfluenzavirus, Isavirus, Thogotovirus, and Quaranjavirus. The first four genera contain viruses that cause influenza in birds and mammals, including humans. Isaviruses infect salmon; the thogotoviruses are arboviruses, infecting vertebrates and invertebrates. The Quaranjaviruses are also arboviruses, infecting vertebrates (birds) and invertebrates (arthropods).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Influenza A virus subtype H5N1</span> Subtype of influenza A virus

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) is a subtype of the influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other species. A bird-adapted strain of H5N1, called HPAI A(H5N1) for highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of type A of subtype H5N1, is the highly pathogenic causative agent of H5N1 flu, commonly known as avian influenza. It is enzootic in many bird populations, especially in Southeast Asia. One strain of HPAI A(H5N1) is spreading globally after first appearing in Asia. It is epizootic and panzootic, killing tens of millions of birds and spurring the culling of hundreds of millions of others to stem its spread. Many references to "bird flu" and H5N1 in the popular media refer to this strain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reassortment</span> Type of nonhereditary genetic change involving swapping of DNA or RNA

Reassortment is the mixing of the genetic material of a species into new combinations in different individuals. Several different processes contribute to reassortment, including assortment of chromosomes, and chromosomal crossover. It is particularly used when two similar viruses that are infecting the same cell exchange genetic material. In particular, reassortment occurs among influenza viruses, whose genomes consist of eight distinct segments of RNA. These segments act like mini-chromosomes, and each time a flu virus is assembled, it requires one copy of each segment.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Influenza pandemic</span> Pandemic involving influenza

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Influenza A virus subtype H7N7</span> Virus subtype

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">H5N1 genetic structure</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Host switch</span> Evolutionary change of the host specificity of a parasite or pathogen

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Bat Influenza (Flu)". cdc.gov. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  2. ↑ "Turns Out, Bat Influenza Can Give You the Flu". globalbiodefense.com. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "Characterization of bat influenza viruses". uniklinik-freiburg.de. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "New flu virus found in bats". Nature. 503 (7475): 169. 2013. doi:10.1038/503169e . Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  5. 1 2 Ciminski K, Pfaff F, Beer M, Schwemmle M (2020). "Bats reveal the true power of influenza A virus adaptability". PLOS Pathogens. 16 (4): e1008384. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008384 . PMC   7161946 . PMID   32298389.
  6. ↑ Karakus U, Thamamongood T, Ciminski K, Ran W, Günther S, Pohl M, Eletto DA, Beer M, Schwemmle M, Stertz S (2019). "MHC class II proteins mediate cross-species entry of bat influenza viruses". Nature. 567 (7746): 109–112. Bibcode:2019Natur.567..109K. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-0955-3. PMID   30787439. S2CID   67769877.
  7. ↑ Ciminski K, Ran W, Gorka M, Lee J, Schinköthe J, Eckley M, Murrieta MA, Aboellail TA, Campbell CL, Ebel GD, Ma J, Pohlmann A, Franzke K, Ulrich R, Hoffmann D, Garcia-Sastre A, Ma W, Schountz T, Beer M, Schwemmle M (2019). "Bat influenza viruses transmit among bats but are poorly adapted to non-bat species". Nature Microbiology. 4 (12): 2298–2309. doi:10.1038/s41564-019-0556-9. PMC   7758811 . PMID   31527796. S2CID   202580293.
  8. 1 2 "Study Identifies Transmission Mechanism of Bat Influenza". contagionlive.com. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
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