title: Characterization of H7N2 Avian Influenza Virus in Wild Birds and Pikas in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Area.
abstract: Qinghai Lake is a major migrating bird breeding site that has experienced several recent highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) epizootics. From 2006 to 2009 we studied Qinghai's wild birds and pikas for evidence of AIV infections. We sampled 941 healthy wild animals and isolated seventeen H7N2 viruses (eight from pikas and nine from wild birds). The H7N2 viruses were phylogenetically closely related to each other and to viruses isolated in Hong Kong in the 1970s. We determined the pathogenicity of the H7N2 viruses by infecting chickens and mice. Our results suggest that pikas might play an important role in the ecology of AIVs, acting as intermediate hosts in which viruses become more adapted to mammals. Our findings of AI infection in pikas are consistent with previous observations and raise the possibility that pikas might play a previously unrecognized role in the ecology of AIVs peridomestic aquatic environments.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Institute of Immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Shuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Institute of Immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Virology of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Virology of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Junhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining, China.
authors.forename: Zengkui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Institute of Immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Jinyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Institute of Immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Institute of Immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Institute of Immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Senlin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Institute of Immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Boli
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Global Health Institute, &Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Virology of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Institute of Immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Virology of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center and State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jiyong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000821:virology*; D001717:Birds / Q000821:virology*; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D057917:Influenza A Virus, H7N2 Subtype / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D007793:Lagomorpha / Q000821:virology*; D060106:Lakes; D010802:Phylogeny