15.08.2014

Emerg Infect Dis. vol 20(12) - Dec 2014

Avian influenza virus (AIV) is classified into 16 subtypes on the basis of hemagglutinin (HA) and 9 subtypes on the basis of neuraminidase (NA); additional bat-derived influenza-like genomes, H17N10 and H18N11, have recently been reported. In December 2013, H10N8 virus infection in a person was reported in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China; 2 more human cases followed. The initial reported case was in a 73-year-old woman who visited a local LPM 4 days before the onset of her illness.
The researchers characterized H10N8 strains from a human patient and from poultry in live markets that infected persons had visited. Results of genome sequencing and virus characterization suggest that the virus strains that infected humans originated from these markets.