Influenza A virus subtype H9N2 (A/H9N2) is a subtype of the species Influenza A virus (bird flu virus).[1][2] Since 1998 a total of 86 cases of human infection with H9N2 viruses have been reported.[3]
H9N2-type influenza A viruses donate their internal genes to other influenza A virus subtypes
H9N2 is the most common subtype of influenza viruses in Chinese chickens and thus causes great economic loss for the poultry industry, even under the long-term vaccination programs. Recent human infections with avian influenza virus revealed that H9N2 is the gene donor for H7N9 and H10N8 viruses that can infect humans too. The crucial role of H9N2 viruses due to the wide host range, adaptation to both poultry and mammals and extensive gene reassortment. In China, which is regarded as a breeding ground of avian influenza viruses, the H9N2 virus has been detected in multiple avian species, including chicken, duck, quail, pheasant, partridge, pigeon, silky chicken, chukar and egret.[4]
Epidemiological and genetic studies revealed that the hemagglutinin (HA) gene of the H9N2 influenza viruses could be divided into Eurasian avian and American avian lineages. The Eurasian avian lineage involved three distinct lineages, including A/chicken/Beijing/1/94-like (BJ/94-like), A/quail/Hong Kong/G1/97-like (G1-like), and A/duck/Hong Kong/Y439/97 (Y439-like).[4]
Transmission from chicken to human
The H9N2 influenza virus can be transmitted by air droplet, dust, feed, or water. Chickens usually seemed to be healthy after the infection but some of them do show depression and ruffled feathers. The virus replicates itself in the trachea. It makes chickens more susceptible to secondary infections, especially Escherichia coli infections with a mortality rate of at least 10%. Also, the trachea or bronchi are easily embolized by mucus when the ventilation is poor, leading to severe respiratory disease and death.[4]
Antigenicity
Localization of amino acids related to the antigenicity of H9N2 influenza virus on the three-dimensional map of A/Swine/Hong Kong/9/98. PDB ID is 1JSD. All positions are shown with H9 numbering
H9N2 viruses isolated from chickens in China showed antigenic drift that evolved into distinct antigenic groups. This antigenic drift may have led to immunization failure and may explain the current prevalence of the H9N2 influenza virus in China. The identification of amino acids in H9 antigenic sites revealed different distribution of antigenic areas among other subtypes. Multiple amino acid positions in HA protein related to the antigenicity of H9N2 viruses were identified, most of which located in the distal head of the HA trimer. H9N2 influenza virus has been recognized to reassort with multiple other subtypes, including H6N1, H6N2, and H5N1 viruses. Moreover, H7N9 influenza viruses continued to reassort with circulating H9N2 viruses, resulting in multiple genotypes of H7N9 viruses. The contribution of H9N2 genes, especially ribonucleoprotein (RNP) genes, to the infection in human needs to be determined.[4]
Influenza A virus (IAV) is the only species of the genus Alphainfluenzavirus of the virus family Orthomyxoviridae. It is a pathogen with strains that infect birds and some mammals, as well as causing seasonal flu in humans. Mammals in which different strains of IAV circulate with sustained transmission are bats, pigs, horses and dogs; other mammals can occasionally become infected.
Avian influenza, also known as avian flu or bird flu, is a disease caused by the influenza A virus, which primarily affects birds but can sometimes affect mammals including humans. Wild aquatic birds are the primary host of the influenza A virus, which is enzootic in many bird populations.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) is a subtype of the influenza A virus, which causes the disease avian influenza. It is enzootic in many bird populations, and also panzootic. A/H5N1 virus can also infect mammals that have been exposed to infected birds; in these cases, symptoms are frequently severe or fatal.
Reassortment is the mixing of the genetic material of a species into new combinations in different individuals. The product of reassortment is called a reassortant. It is particularly used when two similar viruses that are infecting the same cell exchange genetic material. More specifically, it refers to the swapping of entire segments of the genome, which only occurs between viruses with segmented genomes.
An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads across a large region and infects a large proportion of the population. There have been five major influenza pandemics in the last 140 years, with the 1918 flu pandemic being the most severe; this is estimated to have been responsible for the deaths of 50–100 million people. The 2009 swine flu pandemic resulted in under 300,000 deaths and is considered relatively mild. These pandemics occur irregularly.
Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 (A/H3N2) is a subtype of influenza A virus (IAV). Some human-adapted strains of A/H3N2 are endemic in humans and are one cause of seasonal influenza (flu). Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs and in birds. Subtypes of IAV are defined by the combination of the antigenic H and N proteins in the viral envelope; for example, "H1N1" designates an IAV subtype that has a type-1 hemagglutinin (H) protein and a type-1 neuraminidase (N) protein.
The global spread of H5N1 influenza in birds is considered a significant pandemic threat. While other H5N1 influenza strains are known, they are significantly different on a genetic level from a highly pathogenic, emergent strain of H5N1, which was able to achieve hitherto unprecedented global spread in 2008. The H5N1 strain is a fast-mutating, highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) found in multiple bird species. It is both epizootic and panzootic. Unless otherwise indicated, "H5N1" in this timeline refers to the 2008 highly pathogenic strain of H5N1.
Transmission and infection of H5N1 from infected avian sources to humans has been a concern since the first documented case of human infection in 1997, due to the global spread of H5N1 that constitutes a pandemic threat.
H5 N2 is a subtype of the species Influenzavirus A. The subtype infects a wide variety of birds, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, falcons, and ostriches. Affected birds usually do not appear ill, and the disease is often mild as avian influenza viral subtypes go. Some variants of the subtype are much more pathogenic than others, and outbreaks of "high-path" H5N2 result in the culling of thousands of birds in poultry farms from time to time. It appears that people who work with birds can be infected by the virus, but suffer hardly any noticeable health effects. Even people exposed to the highly pathogenic H5N2 variety that killed ostrich chicks in South Africa only seem to have developed conjunctivitis, or a perhaps a mild respiratory illness. There is no evidence of human-to-human spread of H5N2. On November 12, 2005 it was reported that a falcon was found to have H5N2. On June 5, 2024, the first confirmed human case of H5N2 was reported in Mexico.
Influenza A virus subtype H7N7 (A/H7N7) is a subtype of Influenza A virus, a genus of Orthomyxovirus, the viruses responsible for influenza. Highly pathogenic strains (HPAI) and low pathogenic strains (LPAI) exist. H7N7 can infect humans, birds, pigs, seals, and horses in the wild; and has infected mice in laboratory studies. This unusual zoonotic potential represents a pandemic threat.
H6N2 is an avian influenza virus with two forms: one has a low and the other a high pathogenicity. It can cause a serious problem for poultry, and also infects ducks as well. H6N2 subtype is considered to be a non-pathogenic chicken virus, the host still unknown, but could strain from feral animals, and/or aquatic bird reservoirs. H6N2 along with H6N6 are viruses that are found to replicate in mice without preadaptation, and some have acquired the ability to bind to human-like receptors. Genetic markers for H6N2 include 22-amino acid stalk deletion in neuraminidase (NA) protein gene, increased N-glycosylation, and a D144 mutation of the Haemagglutinin (HA) protein gene. Transmission of avian influenza viruses from wild aquatic birds to domestic birds usually cause subclinical infections, and occasionally, respiratory disease and drops in egg production. Some histological features presented in chicken infected with H6N2 are fibrinous yolk peritonitis, salpingitis, oophoritis, nephritis, along with swollen kidneys as well.
The genetic structure of H5N1, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, is characterized by a segmented RNA genome consisting of eight gene segments that encode for various viral proteins essential for replication, host adaptation, and immune evasion.
Fujian flu refers to flu caused by either a Fujian human flu strain of the H3N2 subtype of the Influenza A virus or a Fujian bird flu strain of the H5N1 subtype of the Influenza A virus. These strains are named after Fujian, a coastal province in Southeast China.
The Goose Guangdong virus refers to the strain A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96 (Gs/Gd)-like H5N1 HPAI viruses. It is a strain of the Influenzavirus A subtype H5N1 virus that was first detected in a goose in Guangdong in 1996. It is an HPAI virus, meaning that it can kill a very high percentage of chickens in a flock in mere days. It is believed to be the immediate precursor of the current dominant strain of HPAI A(H5N1) that evolved from 1999 to 2002 creating the Z genotype that is spreading globally and is epizootic and panzootic, killing tens of millions of birds and spurring the culling of hundreds of millions of others to stem its spread.
H5N1 influenza virus is a type of influenza A virus which mostly infects birds. H5N1 flu is a concern due to the fact that its global spread may constitute a pandemic threat. The yardstick for human mortality from H5N1 is the case-fatality rate (CFR); the ratio of the number of confirmed human deaths resulting from infection of H5N1 to the number of those confirmed cases of infection with the virus. For example, if there are 100 confirmed cases of a disease and 50 die as a consequence, then the CFR is 50%. The case fatality rate does not take into account cases of a disease which are unconfirmed or undiagnosed, perhaps because symptoms were mild and unremarkable or because of a lack of diagnostic facilities. The Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) is adjusted to allow for undiagnosed cases.
Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms begin one to four days after exposure to the virus and last for about two to eight days. Diarrhea and vomiting can occur, particularly in children. Influenza may progress to pneumonia from the virus or a subsequent bacterial infection. Other complications include acute respiratory distress syndrome, meningitis, encephalitis, and worsening of pre-existing health problems such as asthma and cardiovascular disease.
Influenza A virus subtype H7N9 (A/H7N9) is a subtype of the influenza A virus, which causes influenza (flu), predominantly in birds. It is enzootic in many bird populations. The virus can spread rapidly through poultry flocks and among wild birds; it can also infect humans that have been exposed to infected birds.
Influenza A virus subtype H6N1 (A/H6N1), is a subtype of the influenza A virus. It has only infected one person, a woman in Taiwan, who recovered. Known to infect Eurasian teal, it is closely related to subtype H5N1.
Chen Hualan is a Chinese veterinary virologist best known for researching animal epidemic diseases. She is a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and a member of the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT). She is now a researcher and PhD Supervisor at Harbin Veterinary Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Influenza A virus subtype H10N3 is a subtype of viruses that causes influenza (flu). It is mostly present in wild avian species. The first human case was reported in 2021.
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