title: Characterization of clade 2.3.4.4 highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza viruses in ducks and chickens.
abstract: Worldwide dissemination of reassortant variants of H5 clade 2.3.4.4 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses has posed a great threat to the poultry industry. Here, we systematically characterized the H5N2, H5N6 and H5N8 influenza viruses in poultry and compared them with those of previous clade 2.3.4 H5N1 virus. All the three H5 subtype reassortants caused systematic infection in ducks, and exhibited efficient direct transmission in ducks. All of them were highly pathogenic in chickens; however, the H5 reassortants have reduced virulence compared to the parental H5N1 virus. Antigenicity analysis revealed that the current vaccines that are widely used in China may fail to confer protection against the H5 reassortants.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Honglei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pu
authors.affiliation: Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Litao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Guanlong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: George F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China. Electronic address: xfliu@yzu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiufan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: ljh@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jinhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D002645:Chickens; D004372:Ducks; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; C109963:hemagglutinin, avian influenza A virus
keywords: Antigenicity; Chicken; Duck; H5 reassortants; Pathogenicity; Transmission