New Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1), China | CDC EID

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Volume 17, Number 2–February 2011
Dispatch
New Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1) in Wild Birds, Qinghai, China
Yanbing Li,1 Liling Liu,1 Yi Zhang, Zhenhua Duan, Guobin Tian, Xianying Zeng, Jianzhong Shi, Licheng Zhang, and Hualan Chen

Author affiliations: Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Harbin, People's Republic of China (Y. Li, L. Liu, Y. Zhang, Z. Duan, G. Tian, X. Zeng, J. Shi, H. Chen); and Qinghai Provincial Center of Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Xining, People's Republic of China (L. Zhang)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1) (QH09) was isolated from dead wild birds (3 species) in Qinghai, China, during May–June 2009. Phylogenetic and antigenic analyses showed that QH09 was clearly distinguishable from classical clade 2.2 viruses and belonged to clade 2.3.2.

In May 2005, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus (H5N1) caused a disease outbreak in wild birds in the Qinghai Lake region of the People's Republic of China (1). Subsequently, this virus (QH05, clade 2.2) disseminated from Asia to Europe and Africa, which has led to great concern and energetic debates about the role of migratory birds in influenza epidemics (1–5). In 2006, this virus was detected in migratory birds in Qinghai (6,7). In 2007, viruses similar to QH05 were isolated from surveyed anseriformes in Qinghai and showed only a short evolutionary distance from earlier viruses (8). Genetic diversity of avian influenza viruses (H5N1) was not detected in wild birds in Qinghai before 2008 (7,8). We report evidence that a second lineage of viruses, in addition to clade 2.2, has emerged in wild birds in Qinghai.

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New Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1), China | CDC EID


Suggested Citation for this Article
Li Y, Liu L, Zhang Y, Duan Z, Tian G, Zeng X, et al. New avian influenza virus (H5N1) in wild birds, Qinghai, China. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2011 Feb [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/17/2/265.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1702.100732



1These authors contributed equally to this article.


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Hualan Chen, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 427 Maduan St, Harbin 150001, People's Republic of China; email: hlchen1@yahoo.com