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Abstract
Subtype H6 influenza A viruses (IAVs) are commonly detected in wild birds and domestic poultry and can infect humans. In 2010, a H6N6 virus emerged in southern China, and since then, it has caused sporadic infections among swine. We show that this virus binds to α2,6-linked and α2,3-linked sialic acids. Mutations at residues 222 (alanine to valine) and 228 (glycine to serine) of the virus hemagglutinin (HA) affected its receptor-binding properties. Experiments showed that the virus has limited transmissibility between ferrets through direct contact or through inhalation of infectious aerosolized droplets. The internal genes of the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus, which is prevalent in swine worldwide, increases the replication efficiency of H6N6 IAV in the lower respiratory tract of ferrets but not its transmissibility between ferrets. These findings suggest H6N6 swine IAV (SIV) currently poses a moderate risk to public health, but its evolution and spread should be closely monitored.
Emerging Microbes & Infections (2017) 6, e17; doi:10.1038/emi.2017.3; published online 12 April 2017
Acknowledgments
We thank Dr Lucy Senter (College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University) and the Mississippi State University Office of Laboratory Animal Resources for assistance with the ferret experiments. We acknowledge the Consortium for Functional Glycomics, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Science (GM62116 and GM98791), for services provided by the Glycan Array Synthesis Core (The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA), which produced the mammalian glycan microarray. We also acknowledge the Protein–Glycan Interaction Core (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA) for assistance with the analysis of samples on the array. This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant P20GM103646).
Supplementary Information for this article can be found on the Emerging Microbes & Infections website (http://www.nature.com/emi)
