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Characterization of a highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus derived from bar-headed geese in China

Ji-Yong Zhou^1,

Hui-Gang Shen^1,

Hong-Xun Chen^1,2,

¹ Laboratory of Virology and Immunology, Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, 268 Kaixuan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, People's Republic of China
² College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, 268 Kaixuan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, People's Republic of China
³ National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150001, People's Republic of China
⁴ Key Laboratory of Poultry Raising and Disease Control of Ministry of Agriculture, Southern China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
⁵ Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine of Ministry of Agriculture, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, People's Republic of China

Correspondence
Ji-Yong Zhou
jyzhou{at}zju.edu.cn

Influenza A viruses are usually non-pathogenic in wild aquatic birds, their natural reservoir. However, from May to July 2005, at Qinghai Lake in China, an unprecedented outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus caused the death of thousands of wild migratory waterbirds. Herein, H5N1 influenza virus from bar-headed geese collected during the outbreak was characterized. Genomic analysis showed that A/Bar-headed Goose/Qinghai/0510/05 (Bh H5N1 virus) is a reassortant virus. Amino acid residue (lysine) at position 627 in the PB2 gene of the Bh H5N1 virus was the same as that of the human H5N1 virus (A/HK/483/97) and different from that of H5N1 avian influenza viruses deposited in GenBank. Antigenic analysis showed that significant antigenic variation has occurred in the Bh H5N1 virus. The Bh H5N1 virus induced systemic infections and caused 100 % mortality in chickens and mice, and 80 % mortality in ducks and geese. Bh H5N1 virus titres were higher in multiple organs of chickens, ducks and geese than in mice, and caused more severe histological lesions in chickens, ducks and mice than in geese. These results support the need to pay close attention and create control programmes to prevent the transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus from wild migratory waterbirds into domestic chickens, ducks, geese and mammalian hosts.

Published online ahead of print on 10 April 2006 as DOI 10.1099/vir.0.81800-0

The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the sequences reported in this paper are DQ137873, DQ137874 and DQ237951–DQ237956.

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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