Epidemiologic, Clinical, and Genetic Characteristics of Human Infections with Influenza A(H5N6) Viruses, China

The recent rise in the frequency of influenza A(H5N6) infections in China has raised serious concerns about whether the risk for human infection has increased. We surveyed epidemiologic, clinical, and genetic data of human infections with A(H5N6) viruses. Severe disease occurred in 93.8% of cases, a...

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Published in:Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 28; no. 7; pp. 1332 - 1344
Main Authors: Zhu, Wenfei, Li, Xiyan, Dong, Jie, Bo, Hong, Liu, Jia, Yang, Jiaying, Zhang, Ye, Wei, Hejiang, Huang, Weijuan, Zhao, Xiang, Chen, Tao, Yang, Jing, Li, Zi, Zeng, Xiaoxu, Li, Chao, Tang, Jing, Xin, Li, Gao, Rongbao, Liu, Liqi, Tan, Min, Shu, Yuelong, Yang, Lei, Wang, Dayan
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01-07-2022
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Summary:The recent rise in the frequency of influenza A(H5N6) infections in China has raised serious concerns about whether the risk for human infection has increased. We surveyed epidemiologic, clinical, and genetic data of human infections with A(H5N6) viruses. Severe disease occurred in 93.8% of cases, and the fatality rate was 55.4%. Median patient age was 51 years. Most H5N6 hemagglutinin (HA) genes in human isolates in 2021 originated from subclade 2.3.4.4b; we estimated the time to most recent common ancestor as June 16, 2020. A total of 13 genotypes with HA genes from multiple subclades in clade 2.3.4.4 were identified in human isolates. Of note, 4 new genotypes detected in 2021 were the major causes of increased H5N6 virus infections. Mammalian-adapted mutations were found in HA and internal genes. Although we found no evidence of human-to-human transmission, continuous evolution of H5N6 viruses may increase the risk for human infections.
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ISSN:1080-6040
1080-6059
DOI:10.3201/EID2807.212482