Airborne transmission of human-isolated avian H3N8 influenza virus between ferrets.
Honglei Sun1
Han Li1
Qi Tong1
Qiqi Han1
Jiyu Liu1
Haili Yu1
Hao Song2
Jianxun Qi3
Jiaqi Li1
Jizhe Yang1
Riguo Lan1
Guojing Deng1
Haoyu Chang1
Yajin Qu1
Juan Pu1
Yipeng Sun1
Yu Lan4
Dayan Wang4
Yi Shi3
William J Liu4
Kin-Chow Chang5
George F Gao6,7
Jinhua Liu8
Affiliations8 institutions
National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health and Safety, Key Laboratory for Prevention and Control of Avian Influenza and Other Major Poultry Diseases, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Research Network of Immunity and Health (RNIH), Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Chinese National Influenza Center (CNIC), NHC Key Laboratory of Biosafety, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China.
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK.
CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Chinese National Influenza Center (CNIC), NHC Key Laboratory of Biosafety, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health and Safety, Key Laboratory for Prevention and Control of Avian Influenza and Other Major Poultry Diseases, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
H3N8 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in China caused two confirmed human infections in 2022, followed by a fatal case reported in 2023. H3N8 viruses are widespread in chicken flocks; however, the zoonotic features of H3N8 viruses are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that H3N8 viruses were able to infect and replicate efficiently in organotypic normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells and lung epithelial (Calu-3) cells. Human isolates of H3N8 virus were more virulent and caused severe pathology in mice and ferrets, relative to chicken isolates. Importantly, H3N8 virus isolated from a patient with severe pneumonia was transmissible between ferrets through respiratory droplets; it had acquired human-receptor-binding preference and amino acid substitution PB2-E627K necessary for airborne transmission. Human populations, even when vaccinated against human H3N2 virus, appear immunologically naive to emerging mammalian-adapted H3N8 AIVs and could be vulnerable to infection at epidemic or pandemic proportion.
airborne transmissionavian influenza virusesbiological propertiesferretH3N8 subtypezoonosisInfluenza A Virus, H3N8 SubtypeInfluenza, HumanAnimalsChickensFerretsHumansInfluenza A Virus, H3N2 SubtypeMiceRespiratory Aerosols and Droplets
Structured evidence records
Evidence records
6 total
Host Range Experiment2 records
Host Range ExperimentExtraction confidence 0.90
Key finding
Human-isolated H3N8 avian influenza viruses infected and replicated efficiently in human airway epithelial cell cultures.
H3N8 viruses were able to infect and replicate efficiently in organotypic normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells and lung epithelial (Calu-3) cells.
Method
infection assay; replication assay
Sample type
bronchial epithelial cells; lung epithelial cells
Experimental system
in vitro cell culture
Host Range ExperimentExtraction confidence 0.90
Key finding
Human-isolated H3N8 avian influenza virus caused severe disease in ferrets and transmitted via respiratory droplets, demonstrating airborne host-to-host transmission potential.
Human isolates of H3N8 virus were more virulent and caused severe pathology in mice and ferrets, relative to chicken isolates. Importantly, H3N8 virus isolated from a patient with severe pneumonia was transmissible between ferrets through respiratory droplets.
Method
challenge study; airborne transmission experiment
Experimental system
in vivo animal experiment
Cross Species Transmission1 records
Cross Species TransmissionExtraction confidence 0.85
Key finding
An avian-origin H3N8 influenza virus isolated from a human case transmitted efficiently between ferrets via respiratory droplets.
H3N8 virus isolated from a patient with severe pneumonia was transmissible between ferrets through respiratory droplets; it had acquired human-receptor-binding preference and amino acid substitution PB2-E627K necessary for airborne transmission.
The H3N8 virus isolated from a patient with severe pneumonia was transmissible between ferrets through respiratory droplets; it had acquired human-receptor-binding preference and amino acid substitution PB2-E627K necessary for airborne transmission.
Receptors
human-receptor
Spillover Event1 records
Spillover EventExtraction confidence 0.85
Key finding
Avian-origin H3N8 influenza viruses transmitted from poultry to humans in China, resulting in confirmed and fatal human infections.
