Nature Communications (Apr 2024)

Cross-species spill-over potential of the H9N2 bat influenza A virus

  • Rabeh El-Shesheny,
  • John Franks,
  • Ahmed Kandeil,
  • Rebecca Badra,
  • Jasmine Turner,
  • Patrick Seiler,
  • Bindumadhav M. Marathe,
  • Trushar Jeevan,
  • Lisa Kercher,
  • Meng Hu,
  • Yul Eum Sim,
  • Kenrie P. Y. Hui,
  • Michael C. W. Chan,
  • Andrew J. Thompson,
  • Pamela McKenzie,
  • Elena A. Govorkova,
  • Charles J. Russell,
  • Peter Vogel,
  • James C. Paulson,
  • J. S. Malik Peiris,
  • Robert G. Webster,
  • Mohamed A. Ali,
  • Ghazi Kayali,
  • Richard J. Webby

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47635-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

Read online

Abstract In 2017, a novel influenza A virus (IAV) was isolated from an Egyptian fruit bat. In contrast to other bat influenza viruses, the virus was related to avian A(H9N2) viruses and was probably the result of a bird-to-bat transmission event. To determine the cross-species spill-over potential, we biologically characterize features of A/bat/Egypt/381OP/2017(H9N2). The virus has a pH inactivation profile and neuraminidase activity similar to those of human-adapted IAVs. Despite the virus having an avian virus–like preference for α2,3 sialic acid receptors, it is unable to replicate in male mallard ducks; however, it readily infects ex-vivo human respiratory cell cultures and replicates in the lungs of female mice. A/bat/Egypt/381OP/2017 replicates in the upper respiratory tract of experimentally-infected male ferrets featuring direct-contact and airborne transmission. These data suggest that the bat A(H9N2) virus has features associated with increased risk to humans without a shift to a preference for α2,6 sialic acid receptors.