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. 2017 Jan 5;22(1):30435.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2017.22.1.30435.

Novel real-time PCR-based patho- and phylotyping of potentially zoonotic avian influenza A subtype H5 viruses at risk of incursion into Europe in 2017

Mahmoud M Naguib  1   2 , Annika Graaf  1 , Andrea Fortin  3 , Christine Luttermann  4 , Ulrich Wernery  5 , Nadim Amarin  6 , Hussein A Hussein  7 , Hesham Sultan  8 , Basem Al Adhadh  9 , Mohamed K Hassan  2 , Martin Beer  1 , Isabella Monne  3 , Timm C Harder  1
Affiliations

Novel real-time PCR-based patho- and phylotyping of potentially zoonotic avian influenza A subtype H5 viruses at risk of incursion into Europe in 2017

Mahmoud M Naguib et al. Euro Surveill. .

Abstract

Since November 2016, Europe witnesses another wave of incursion of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) viruses of the Asian origin goose/Guangdong (gs/GD) lineage. Infections with H5 viruses of clade 2.3.4.4b affect wild bird and poultry populations. H5 viruses of clades 2.2, 2.3.1.2c and 2.3.4.4a were detected previously in Europe in 2006, 2010 and 2014. Clades 2.2.1.2 and 2.3.2.1.c are endemic in Egypt and Western Africa, respectively and have caused human fatalities. Evidence exists of their co-circulation in the Middle East. Subtype H5 viruses of low pathogenicity (LPAI) are endemic in migratory wild bird populations. They potentially mutate into highly pathogenic phenotypes following transmission into poultry holdings. However, to date only the gs/GD H5 lineage had an impact on human health. Rapid and specific diagnosis marks the cornerstone for control and eradication of HPAI virus incursions. We present the development and validation of five real-time RT-PCR assays (RT-qPCR) that allow sequencing-independent pathotype and clade-specific distinction of major gs/GD HPAI H5 virus clades and of Eurasian LPAI viruses currently circulating. Together with an influenza A virus-generic RT-qPCR, the assays significantly speed up time-to-diagnosis and reduce reaction times in a OneHealth approach of curbing the spread of gs/GD HPAI viruses.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared. One of the authors (N.A.) works for Boehringer Ingelheim, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Evaluation of detection limits and precision of pathotyping and phylotyping quantitative reverse transcription PCRs compared with a generic matrix (M) gene RT-qPCRa
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pathotyping and phylotyping of virus isolates and clinical samples of potentially zoonotic Eurasian avian influenza A subtype H5 viruses by quantitative reverse transcription PCRs
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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