Shillong, September 5: Researchers from China and the UK have issued a warning about a subtype of avian flu virus found in poultry farms in China.
As per IANS, the virus has undergone mutational changes, potentially increasing the risk of transmission to humans, raising concerns of an epidemic or pandemic.
Published in the journal Cell, the study focused on the characterization of an H3N8 avian influenza virus isolate from a human patient. Using laboratory mice and ferrets as models for human infection, the research found that the virus had undergone adaptive changes, enabling it to cause severe animal infections and become transmissible via airborne routes among animals.
In humans, avian H3N8 virus infections have led to acute respiratory distress syndrome and fatalities. While the virus is prevalent in chicken flocks, its transmission from animals to humans was not well understood.
The study revealed that the virus had acquired human receptor binding preference and a specific amino acid substitution, PB2-E627K, crucial for airborne transmission.
Professor Kin-Chow Chang from the University of Nottingham stated, “Human populations, even when vaccinated against human H3N2 virus, appear immunologically naïve to emerging mammalian-adapted H3N8 AIVs and could be vulnerable to infection at epidemic or pandemic proportions.”
Professor Jinhua Liu at the China Agricultural University in Beijing emphasized the importance of monitoring changes in the virus’s acid resistance.
H3N8 viruses are commonly found in animals globally and have been detected in various mammal species, including dogs and horses. Zoonotic influenza type A infections, like these, can cause a range of diseases, from mild respiratory symptoms to severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and death.
Given the evolving nature of influenza viruses, the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes global surveillance to detect changes in circulating influenza viruses that may impact human or animal health.
