title: Pandemic potential of avian influenza A (H7N9) viruses.
abstract: Avian influenza viruses rarely infect humans, but the recently emerged avian H7N9 influenza viruses have caused sporadic infections in humans in China, resulting in 440 confirmed cases with 122 fatalities as of 16 May 2014. In addition, epidemiologic surveys suggest that there have been asymptomatic or mild human infections with H7N9 viruses. These viruses replicate efficiently in mammals, show limited transmissibility in ferrets and guinea pigs, and possess mammalian-adapting amino acid changes that likely contribute to their ability to infect mammals. In this review, we summarize the characteristic features of the novel H7N9 viruses and assess their pandemic potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 575 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711, USA; ERATO Infection-Induced Host Responses Project, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012, Japan; Division of Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan.
authors.forename: Tokiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: ERATO Infection-Induced Host Responses Project, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012, Japan; Laboratory of Veterinary Microbiology, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 889-2192, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 575 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711, USA.
authors.forename: Eileen A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Maher
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 575 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711, USA.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 575 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711, USA; ERATO Infection-Induced Host Responses Project, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012, Japan; Division of Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan; Department of Special Pathogens, International Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan. Electronic address: kawaokay@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawaoka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D002681:China; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D005289:Ferrets; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D064766:Influenza A Virus, H7N9 Subtype / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D058873:Pandemics; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology*
keywords: avian influenza H7N9 viruses; pandemic potential; transmission