Science China. Life sciences
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Case Reports
Environmental connections of novel avian-origin H7N9 influenza virus infection and virus adaptation to the human.
A novel H7N9 influenza A virus has been discovered as the causative identity of the emerging acute respiratory infection cases in Shanghai, China. This virus has also been identified in cases of infection in the neighboring area Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province. In this study, epidemiologic, clinical, and virological data from three patients in Hangzhou who were confirmed to be infected by the novel H7N9 influenza A virus were collected and analyzed. ⋯ More importantly, the virus sequenced from the chicken feces had a 627E substitution in the PB2 protein instead of the mammalian-adapted 627K substitution that was found in the PB2 proteins from the Hangzhou viruses from the three patients. Therefore, the newly-emerging H7N9 virus might be under adaptation pressure that will help it "jump" from avian to human hosts. The significance of these substitutions needs further exploration, with both laboratory experiments and extensive field surveillance.