By Nidhi Saha, BDSAug 31 2022Reviewed by Aimee Molineux
Global public health continues to be threatened by zoonotic and pandemic influenza.The virus has a high mutation rate, owing to its interspecies transmissibility and adaptability. The influenza A virus has diverse avian and animal origins with several viral subtypes; those in aquatic birds differ in neuraminidase (N1-N9) and hemagglutinin (H1 – H16).
Subtypes H6 and H9 of the influenza A virus infect game birds like pheasants, quails, and domestic chickens. H9N2 viruses containing acquired neuraminidase (NA) and hemagglutinin (HA) genes generate H5N1, H5N6, H10N8, and H7N9 viruses that may infect poultry and thereby threaten another zoonotic outbreak and onset of a pandemic.
The study
A recent virological study published in theEmerging Infectious Diseasesjournal identified the novel influenza A virus (H3N8) in live poultry in Hong Kong, genetically similar to the zoonotic H3N8 viruses reported…
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Exposing the Big Game 