Pathogenicity and Transmissibility of an H9N2 Avian Influenza Virus that Naturally Harbors the Mammalian-adaptive Molecular Factors in the Hemagglutinin and PB2 Proteins

A recent article by Gu in the Journal of Infection(1) reported two highly pathogenic H7N9 strains harboring the E627K mutation in the polybasic protein 2 (PB2) gene from chickens and showed that avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are evolving to adapt to humans. AIVs pose an important and ongoing threat to public health. Historically, both the highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (H5N1, H5N6, H7N7, H7N3, and H7N9) and the lowly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (H7N2, H7N3, H9N2, H7N9, H6N1, H10N7, and H10N8) have caused sporadic human infections.

Source: Journal of Infection - September 17, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Kaituo Liu, Xiaoquan Wang, Daxiu Jiang, Naiqing Xu, Ruyi Gao, Wenwen Han, Min Gu, Jiao Hu, Xiaowen Liu, Shunlin Hu, Xiufan Liu Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research