http://precedings.nature.com/tags/Pandemic Recently posted documents tagged with 'Pandemic' Nature Publishing Group en Nature Precedings http://precedings.nature.com/images/header_logo.gif http://precedings.nature.com http://precedings.nature.com/documents/2506/version/1 Avian influenza virus (AI) strains such as H5N1 and H9N2 are endemic among birds and poultry globally and mainly within Eurasia. Human cases have been reported yet the transmission among humans has been inefficient. While swine and pigs have functioned as the primary intermediate host and genetic re-assorter of AI virus, other intermediate and competent hosts may be emerging. This could be potentially disastrous for humans should this lead to the generation of a pandemic strain. This letter to the editor highlights recent findings of AI spread among ferrets and raccoons and the real prospect of genetic re-assortment and evolution among these intermediate non-avian species that could lead to a pandemic strain. These hosts revealed efficient transmission to direct contacts. The implications to humans are staggering. The recent and reported non-avian host findings indicate that there is a steady progression via genetic evolution and adaptation in intermediate hosts, and the potential, for AI virus to eventually acquire the ability to transmit more efficiently to humans and then readily among humans. Further research on the ferret and raccoon models of infection and efficient transmissibility is needed, with a focus on the molecular basis of interspecies transmission and aerosolized spread. http://precedings.nature.com/documents/2506/version/1 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:49:44 UTC Competent intermediate hosts and genetic re-assortment: what does the ferret and raccoon model tell us about influenza pandemic risk? hdl:10101/npre.2008.2506.1 2008-11-13 Paul Alexander Nature Precedings 2008-11-13T17:49:44Z Manuscript Genetics & Genomics Immunology http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ http://precedings.nature.com/documents/459/version/4 Highly pathogenic Influenza A H5N1 was first identified in Guangdong Province in 1996, followed by human cases in Hong Kong in 1997 1,2. The number of confirmed human cases now exceeds 300 and the associated Case Fatality Rate exceeds 60% 3. The genetic diversity of the serotype continues to increase. Four distinct clades or sub-clades have been linked to human cases 4-7. The gradual genetic changes identified in the sub-clades have been attributed to copy errors by viral encoded polymerases that lack an editing function, thereby resulting in antigenic drift 8. We report here the concurrent acquisition of the same polymorphism by multiple, genetically distinct, clade 2.2 sub-clades in Egypt, Russia, Kuwait, and Ghana. These changes are not easily explained by the current theory of “random mutation” through copy error, and are more easily explained by recombination with a common source. The recombination role is further supported by the high fidelity replication in swine influenza 9 and aggregation of single nucleotide polymorphisms in H5N1 clade 2.2 hemagglutinin 10. http://precedings.nature.com/documents/459/version/4 Thu, 08 May 2008 21:53:58 UTC Concurrent Acquisition of a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in Diverse Influenza H5N1 Clade 2.2 Sub-clades hdl:10101/npre.2008.459.4 2008-05-11 Henry Niman Nature Precedings 2008-05-08T21:53:58Z Manuscript Biotechnology Ecology Genetics & Genomics Microbiology Bioinformatics http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/