Avian Influenza A (H7N9): Origin and Diversity

The H7N9 virus might have evolved from four origins; the multiple reassortant events may have involved wild birds and poultry.

Using virus genome sequences available through a global shared database, investigators in China have explored the evolutionary origins of the novel avian influenza A (H7N9) viruses. They constructed phylogenetic trees and carried out analyses to estimate phylogenies, divergence times, and evolutionary markers for eight gene segments and integrated this information with host ecology.

The H7 gene sequences of the viruses resembled those from ducks in Zhejiang Province in 2011, at which time H7 viruses were also circulating in wild ducks along the East Asian flyway. The neuraminidase gene of H7N9 was most closely related to sequences from wild ducks in South Korea, also in 2011. The internal genes of the virus clustered with those of H9N2 virus…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Avian Influenza A (H7N9): Origin and Diversity

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Reviewing Author