Novel reassortant H7N2 originating from the H7N9 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in China, 2019

In March 2013, the first human case of zoonotic H7N9 avian influenza virus (AIV) infection was reported in China. This virus has been circulating in domestic poultry in China while mutating to highly pathogenic AIV (HPAIV) since 2017, which caused human infections and poultry outbreaks. In 2019, a novel reassortant H7N2 HPAIV, A/chicken/China/SJZ1/2019(SJZ1), was isolated from H7 –Re2-vaccinated layers. We analyzed the genetic, pathogenic, and antigenic characteristics of SJZ1. Analysis of the entire SJZ1 genomic sequence revealed that it comprised at least two different sources; the PB2, PB1, PA, HA (H7), M, and NS segments of SJZ1 were directly derived from H7N9 AIVs, wh ereas the NA (N2) and NP segments of SJZ1 were derived from H9N2 AIVs.
Source: Journal of Infection - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research