title: Novel avian influenza A (H5N6) viruses isolated in migratory waterfowl before the first human case reported in China, 2014.
abstract: In May 2014, China formally confirmed the first human infection with the novel H5N6 avian influenza virus (AIV) in Sichuan Province. Before the first human case was reported, surveillance of AIVs in wild birds resulted in the detection of three H5N6 viruses in faecal samples from migratory waterfowl in Chenhu wetlands, Hubei Province, China. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses revealed that these three novel viruses were closely related to the H5N6 virus that has caused human infections in China since 2014. A Bayesian phylogenetic reconstruction of all eight segments suggests multiple reassortment events in the evolution of these viruses. The hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) originated from the H5N2 and H6N6 AIVs, respectively, whereas all six internal genes were derived from avian H5N1 viruses. The reassortant may have occurred in eastern China during 2012-2013. A phylogeographic analysis of the HA and NA genes traced the viruses to southern China, from where they spread to other areas via eastern China. A receptor-binding test showed that H5N6 viruses from migratory waterfowl had human-type receptor-binding activity, suggesting a potential for transmission to humans. These data suggest that migratory waterfowl may play a role in the dissemination of novel H5N6 viruses.
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, State Key Discipline of Infectious Disease, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China.|Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|Center for Influenza Research and Early-warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yuhai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
authors.forename: Haizhou
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
authors.forename: Chaochao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, State Key Discipline of Infectious Disease, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China.
authors.lastname: Di Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathogen Biology, Taishan Medical College, Taian 271016, China.
authors.forename: Weifeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
authors.forename: Mingxin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
authors.forename: Siling
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The Monitoring Center of Wildlife Diseases and Resource of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430075, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The Monitoring Center of Wildlife Diseases and Resource of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430075, China.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The Monitoring Center of Wildlife Diseases and Resource of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430075, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Monitoring Center of Wildlife Diseases and Resource of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430075, China.
authors.forename: Guoxiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: The Monitoring Center of Wildlife Diseases and Resource of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430075, China.
authors.forename: Yongsong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: The Monitoring Center of Wildlife Diseases and Resource of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430075, China.
authors.forename: Yanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Fumin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
authors.forename: Hanzhong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.|Center for Influenza Research and Early-warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Quanjiao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.|Center for Influenza Research and Early-warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, State Key Discipline of Infectious Disease, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China.|Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|Center for Influenza Research and Early-warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|Office of Director-General, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Beijing 102206, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Medical School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China.
authors.forename: George F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000821:virology; D001717:Birds / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D002681:China; D016679:Genome, Viral; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D053125:Influenza A Virus, H5N2 Subtype / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D009439:Neuraminidase / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D009439:Neuraminidase