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In recent years, clade 2.3.4.4b highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses have exhibited substantial host expansion, geographic spread, and reassortment with other circulating influenza A viruses (IAVs) in birds, resulting [...]

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5Nx) viruses (clade 2.3.4.4, primarily H5N2 and H5N8 subtypes) were first detected along the Pacific flyway in 2014, resulting in outbreaks in wild bird and [...]

The article discusses the challenges and best practices of using in vivo-generated data in data science applications, such as statistical analyses and machine learning. It emphasizes the importance of aggregating and organizing data from multiple studies, normalizing the data to reduce variability, and transforming serial data into discrete values. The article also highlights the need for domain expertise in determining biological relevance and selecting appropriate ML algorithms. It concludes by advocating for the sharing of aggregated data sets to promote transparency, reproducibility, and scientific advancement. [Extracted from the article]

The sporadic occurrence of human infections with swine-origin influenza A(H3N2) viruses and the continual emergence of novel A(H3N2) viruses in swine herds underscore the necessity for ongoing assessment of the pandemic risk posed by these viruses. Here, we selected 3 recent novel swine-origin A(H3N2) viruses isolated between 2017 to 2020, bearing hemagglutinins from the 1990.1, 2010.1, or 2010.2 clades, and evaluated their ability to cause disease and transmit in a ferret model. We conclude that despite considerable genetic variances, all 3 contemporary swine-origin A(H3N2) viruses displayed a capacity for robust replication in the ferret respiratory tract and were also capable of limited airborne transmission. These findings highlight the continued public health risk of swine-origin A(H3N2) strains, especially in human populations with low cross-reactive immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferrets represent an invaluable model for the study of influenza virus pathogenicity and transmissibility. Ferrets are also employed for the study of bacterial pathogens that naturally infect humans at different anatomical sites. While viral and bacterial infection studies in isolation using animal models are important for furthering our understanding of pathogen biology and developing improved therapeutics, it is also critical to extend our knowledge to pathogen coinfections in vivo, to more closely examine interkingdom dynamics that may contribute to overall disease outcomes. We discuss how ferrets have been employed to study a diverse range of both influenza viruses and bacterial species and summarize key studies that have utilized the ferret model for primary influenza virus challenge followed by secondary bacterial infection. These copathogenesis studies have provided critical insight into the dynamic interplay between these pathogens, underscoring the utility of ferrets as a model system for investigating influenza virus-bacteria interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenza A viruses have been associated with sporadic influenza outbreaks in commercial poultry throughout North America, typically due to low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H5 and H7 subtype viruses (1). [...]

On 29 March 2013, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first reported case of human infection with an avian influenza A(H7N9) virus (1). The recent human infections with H7N9 virus, totalling over 130 cases with 39 fatalities to date, have been characterized by severe pulmonary disease and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (2). This is concerning because H7 viruses have typically been associated with ocular disease in humans, rather than severe respiratory disease (3). This recent outbreak underscores the need to better understand the pathogenesis and transmission of these viruses in mammals. Here we assess the ability of A/Anhui/1/2013 and A/Shanghai/1/2013 (H7N9) viruses, isolated from fatal human cases, to cause disease in mice and ferrets and to transmit to naive animals. Both H7N9 viruses replicated to higher titre in human airway epithelial cells and in the respiratory tract of ferrets compared to a seasonal H3N2 virus. Moreover, the H7N9 viruses showed greater infectivity and lethality in mice compared to genetically related H7N9 and H9N2 viruses. The H7N9 viruses were readily transmitted to naive ferrets through direct contact but, unlike the seasonal H3N2 virus, did not transmit readily by respiratory droplets. The lack of efficient respiratory droplet transmission was corroborated by low receptor-binding specificity for human-like α2,6-linked sialosides. Our results indicate that H7N9 viruses have the capacity for efficient replication in mammals and human airway cells and highlight the need for continued public health surveillance of this emerging virus., Laboratory-confirmed H7N9 infections in humans have been reported in eight contiguous provinces in eastern China (Anhui, Fujian, Henan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong and Zhejiang), two municipalities (Beijing and Shanghai) and [...]