influenza Avirus subtype H7N1 antigen to find out its relatedness by means of the HI assay. The H7 antigen reacted with WHO reference antibodies to high titers (HI titer, 320), indicating antigenic similarity with influenza A(H7N9) isolated from China. This revealed the appropriateness of using the H7 virus antigen in the study. All serum samples from the high-risk group and the general populat...

BACKGROUND H9N2 avian influenza viruses continue to spread in poultry and wild birds throughout Eurasia. OBJECTIVES To characterize H9N2 influenza viruses from pheasants, quail, and white-bellied bustards (WBBs) used to train falcons in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). METHODS Four H9N2 viruses were isolated from pheasants, quail, and WBB used for falconry in the UAE, and antigenic, molecula...

BACKGROUND A(H5N1) and A(H9N2) avian influenza viruses are enzootic in Egyptian poultry, and most A(H5N1) human cases since 2009 have occurred in Egypt. Our understanding of the epidemiology of avian viruses in humans remains limited. Questions about the frequency of infection, the proportion of infections that are mild or subclinical, and the case-fatality rate remain largely unanswered. MET...

H9N2 influenza A viruses are currently widespread in chickens, quail, and other poultry in Asia and have caused a few cases of influenza in humans. In this study, we found that H9N2 viruses from Hong Kong live bird markets have receptor specificity similar to that of human H3N2 viruses. In addition, the neuraminidase of poultry H9N2 viruses has mutations in its hemadsorbing site, a characterist...

sequence analysis and phylogenetic study of hemagglutinin (ha) gene of h9n2 subtype of avian influenza virus isolates (outbreaks of 1998-2002) in tehran province (iran) were studied. two sets of forward and reverse primers in highly conserved regions, based on sequences of ha gene in genbank, were designed. pcr products of a 430-bp fragment of 16 isolates were sequenced and then were aligned wi...

Avian influenza is an important disease of poultry with the potential to cause major epidemics resulting in significant economic losses. The presence of avian influenza viruses (AIV) in chickens in Iran has not been previously reported. An avian influenza outbreak in broiler, layer and breeder farms occurred during a very hot summer in July 1998. Three AIV isolates designated as 101, 102 and 10...

In 1997, an avian H5N1 influenza virus, A/Hong Kong/156/97 (A/HK/156/97), caused six deaths in Hong Kong, and in 1999, an avian H9N2 influenza virus infected two children in Hong Kong. These viruses and a third avian virus [A/Teal/HK/W312/97 (H6N1)] have six highly related genes encoding internal proteins. Additionally, A/Chicken/HK/G9/97 (H9N2) virus has PB1 and PB2 genes that are highly relat...

H9N2 avian influenza viruses are endemic in poultry in Asia and the Middle East. These viruses sporadically cause dead-end infections in pigs and humans raising concerns about their potential to adapt to mammals or reassort with human or swine influenza viruses. We performed ten serial passages with an avian H9N2 virus (A/quail/Hong Kong/G1/1997) in influenza naïve pigs to assess the potential ...

Pigs are permissive to both human and avian influenza viruses and have been proposed to be an intermediate host for the genesis of pandemic influenza viruses through reassortment or adaptation of avian viruses. Prospective virological surveillance carried out between March 1998 and June 2000 in Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China, on pigs imported from southeast...

BACKGROUND In 2008, 800 rural Thai adults living within Kamphaeng Phet Province were enrolled in a prospective cohort study of zoonotic influenza transmission. Serological analyses of enrollment sera suggested this cohort had experienced subclinical avian influenza virus (AIV) infections with H9N2 and H5N1 viruses. METHODS After enrollment, participants were contacted weekly for 24 mos for ac...