title: Ferrets as a transmission model for influenza: sequence changes in HA1 of type A (H3N2) virus.
abstract: Ferrets were used as an animal model to study whether controlled transmission of type A influenza is similar to human transmission when sequence changes in HA1 are used as the outcome. Ferrets were infected initially with A/Sydney/5/97 (H3N2) or A/LA/1/87 (H3N2) intranasally, and transmission chains were established by housing infected ferrets with noninfected ferrets with no influenza antibody titer against the infecting virus. Ferrets infected with A/Sydney were seronegative for A/Sydney and A/LA; ferrets infected with A/LA were seronegative for A/LA but had hemagglutination inhibition titers against A/Sydney. Titers of naturally transmitted influenza were higher than those after direct intranasal infection, but lymphocyte counts from nasal washes diminished with transmission. Ferrets infected with A/LA had 2 amino acid differences in HA1 after transmission through 5 ferret cohorts, but those infected with A/Sydney had none. The results show the value of the ferret model. A/LA resembled the transmission of influenza in humans when under antibody pressure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. louise@umich.edu
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Herlocher
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elias
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Truscon
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mindell
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Monto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005289:Ferrets; D005814:Genes, Viral; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D053122:Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D017817:Nasal Lavage Fluid / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus