Emergence of fatal avian influenza in New England harbor seals
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Abstract
From September to December 2011, 162 New England harbor seals died in an outbreak of pneumonia. Sequence analysis of postmortem samples revealed the presence of an avian H3N8 influenza A virus, similar to a virus circulating in North American waterfowl since at least 2002 but with mutations that indicate recent adaption to mammalian hosts. These include a D701N mutation in the viral PB2 protein, previously reported in highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses infecting people. Lectin staining and agglutination assays indicated the presence of the avian-preferred SAα-2,3 and mammalian SAα-2,6 receptors in seal respiratory tract, and the ability of the virus to agglutinate erythrocytes bearing either the SAα-2,3 or the SAα-2,6 receptor. The emergence of this A/harbor seal/Massachusetts/1/2011 virus may herald the appearance of an H3N8 influenza clade with potential for persistence and cross-species transmission.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Emergence of fatal avian influenza in New England harbor seals |
| Series title | mBio |
| DOI | 10.1128/mBio.00166-12 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| Publisher location | Washington, D.C. |
| Contributing office(s) | National Wildlife Health Center |
| Description | published online, 10 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | mBio |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| Other Geospatial | New England |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |