Emerging Infectious Diseases (Dec 2013)

Novel Variants of Clade 2.3.4 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses, China

  • Min Gu,
  • Guo Zhao,
  • Kunkun Zhao,
  • Lei Zhong,
  • Junqing Huang,
  • Hongquan Wan,
  • Xiaoquan Wang,
  • Wenbo Liu,
  • Huimou Liu,
  • Daxin Peng,
  • Xiufan Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1912.130340
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 19, no. 12
pp. 2021 – 2024

Abstract

Read online

We characterized 7 highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses isolated from poultry in China during 2009–2012 and found that they belong to clade 2.3.4 but do not fit within the 3 defined subclades. Antigenic drift in subtype H5N1 variants may reduce the efficacy of vaccines designed to control these viruses in poultry.

Keywords