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Establishment of multiple sublineages of H5N1 influenza virus in Asia: implications for pandemic control.

ABSTRACT: Preparedness for a possible influenza pandemic caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza A subtype H5N1 has become a global priority. The spread of the virus to Europe and continued human infection in Southeast Asia have heightened pandemic concern. It remains unknown from where the pandemic strain may emerge; current attention is directed at Vietnam, Thailand, and, more recently, Indonesia and China. Here, we report that genetically and antigenically distinct sublineages of H5N1 virus have become established in poultry in different geographical regions of Southeast Asia, indicating the long-term endemicity of the virus, and the isolation of H5N1 virus from apparently healthy migratory birds in southern China. Our data show that H5N1 influenza virus, has continued to spread from its established source in southern China to other regions through transport of poultry and bird migration. The identification of regionally distinct sublineages contributes to the understanding of the mechanism for the perpetuation and spread of H5N1, providing information that is directly relevant to control of the source of infection in poultry. It points to the necessity of surveillance that is geographically broader than previously supposed and that includes H5N1 viruses of greater genetic and antigenic diversity.

SUBMITTER: Chen H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1413830 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Establishment of multiple sublineages of H5N1 influenza virus in Asia: implications for pandemic control.

Chen H H Smith G J D GJ Li K S KS Wang J J Fan X H XH Rayner J M JM Vijaykrishna D D Zhang J X JX Zhang L J LJ Guo C T CT Cheung C L CL Xu K M KM Duan L L Huang K K Qin K K Leung Y H C YH Wu W L WL Lu H R HR Chen Y Y Xia N S NS Naipospos T S P TS Yuen K Y KY Hassan S S SS Bahri S S Nguyen T D TD Webster R G RG Peiris J S M JS Guan Y Y

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20060210 8

Preparedness for a possible influenza pandemic caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza A subtype H5N1 has become a global priority. The spread of the virus to Europe and continued human infection in Southeast Asia have heightened pandemic concern. It remains unknown from where the pandemic strain may emerge; current attention is directed at Vietnam, Thailand, and, more recently, Indonesia and China. Here, we report that genetically and antigenically distinct sublineages of H5N1 virus have be ...[more]

PMID: 16473931

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses are an important health problem in many Asian and African countries. The current increase in human cases demonstrates that influenza A(H5N1) is still a significant global pandemic threat. Many health organizations have recognized the need for new strategies to improve influenza global surveillance. Specifically, the World Health Organization through the global technical consultation for influenza surveillance have called for a detailed picture of the current limitations, especially at the nation level, to evaluate, standardize and strength reporting systems. The main goal of our study is to demonstrate the value of genetic surveillance as part of a strategic surveillance plan. As a proof of concept, we evaluated the current situation of influenza A(H5N1) in Asian and Africa. RESULTS: Our analysis revealed a power-law distribution in the number of sequences of A(H5N1) viruses analyzed and/or reported to influenza surveillance networks. The majority of the Asian and African countries at great risk of A(H5N1) infections have very few (approximately three orders of magnitude) sequenced A(H5N1) viruses (e.g. hemagglutinin genes). This suggests that countries under pandemic alert for avian influenza A(H5N1) have very limited participation (e.g. data generation, genetic analysis and data share) in avian influenza A(H5N1) surveillance. More important, this study demonstrates the usefulness of influenza genetic surveillance to detect emerging pandemic threat viruses. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals that some countries suffering from human cases of avian influenza have limited participation (e.g. genetic surveillance or data share) with global surveillance networks. Also, we demonstrate that the implementation of genetic surveillance programs could increase and strengthen worldwide epidemic and pandemic preparedness. We hope that this work promotes new discussions between policy makers and health surveillance organizations to improve current methodologies and regulations.

Dataset Information

Establishment of multiple sublineages of H5N1 influenza virus in Asia: implications for pandemic control.

Publications

Establishment of multiple sublineages of H5N1 influenza virus in Asia: implications for pandemic control.

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