Characterization of H7N9 avian influenza viruses isolated from duck meat products

Abstract

Avian influenza H7N9 viruses have caused five epidemic waves of human infections since the first human cases were reported in 2013. In 2016, the initial low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H7N9 viruses became highly pathogenic, acquiring multi‐basic amino acids at the haemagglutinin cleavage site. These highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H7N9 viruses have been detected in poultry and humans in China, causing concerns of a serious threat to global public health. In Japan, both HPAI and LPAI H7N9 viruses were isolated from duck meat products carried illegally and relinquished voluntarily at the border by passengers on flights from China to Japan between 2016 and 2017. Some of the LPAI and HPAI H7N9 viruses detected at the border in Japan were characterized previously in chickens and ducks; however, their pathogenicity and replicative ability in mammals remain unknown. In this study, we assessed the biological features of two HPAI H7N9 virus isolates [A/duck/Japan/AQ‐HE29‐22/2017 (HE29‐22) and A/duck/Japan/AQ‐HE29‐52/2017 (HE29‐52); both of these viruses were isolated from duck meat at the border)] and an LPAI H7N9 virus isolate [A/duck/Japan/AQ‐HE28‐3/2016 (HE28‐3)] in mice and ferrets. In mice, HE29‐52 was more pathogenic than HE29‐22 and HE28‐3. In ferrets, the two HPAI virus isolates replicated more efficiently in the lower respiratory tract of the animals than did the LPAI virus isolate. Our results indicate that HPAI H7N9 viruses with the potential to cause severe diseases in mammals have been illegally introduced to Japan.

A Review of Modern Methods for the Detection of Foodborne Pathogens

“…For example, Avian Influenza viruses (H7N9 and H5N8), a substantial risk to public health have been detected in wild birds, poultry, and ducks [ 60 , 61 , 62 ]. The method of detection typically involves homogenizing samples and growing aliquots of the homogenate in embryonated chicken eggs (cell culture) for 2–5 days followed by hemagglutination, with positive hemagglutination demonstrating the presence of the virus [ 63 ].…”

Avian influenza outbreaks in domestic cats: another reason to consider slaughter-free cell-cultured poultry?

“…This is also important if one considers that the HPAI viruses were demonstrated experimentally to survive up to several days on raw poultry meat at varying temperatures (Dai et al, 2022). There are some reports on the presence of such viruses in duck and chicken meat (Wu et al, 2020;Rabalski et al, 2023). This ability increases the risk of their transmission and infection, e.g., during contact with meat products and their further processing.…”