Characterization of an Emergent Chicken H3N8 Influenza Virus in Southern China: a Potential Threat to Public Health

作者：Peiwen Chen, Ziying Jin, Liuxia Peng, Zuoyi Zheng, Yiu-Man Cheung, Jing Guan, Liming Chen, Yiteng Huang, Xiaohui Fan, Zengfeng Zhang, Dongmei Shi, Xie Jin, Rirong Chen, Boheng Xiao, Chun Hung Yip, David K. Smith, Wenshan Hong, Yongmei Liu, Lifeng Li, Jia Wang, Edward C. Holmes, Tommy Tsan‐Yuk Lam, Huachen Zhu, Yi Guan · 发表于：Journal of Virology · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1128/jvi.00434-23 · 被引用次数：26 · 研究领域：Influenza Virus Research Studies、Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology、Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology

A novel H3N8 virus with demonstrated zoonotic potential has emerged and disseminated in chickens in China. It was generated by reassortment between avian H3 and N8 virus(es) and long-term enzootic H9N2 viruses present in southern China. This H3N8 virus has maintained independent H3 and N8 gene lineages but continues to exchange internal genes with other H9N2 viruses to form novel variants. Our experimental studies showed that these H3N8 viruses were transmissible in ferrets, and serological data suggest that the human population lacks effective immunological protection against it. With its wide geographical distribution and continuing evolution in chickens, other spillovers to humans can be expected and might lead to more efficient transmission in humans.