What is it about?
Several patients became naturally infected with the new pandemic H1N1 virus in 2009 and the older seasonal H1N1 virus. In one patient we found these two viruses reassorting and generating new progeny viruses with genes from both parent viruses. This demonstrate the mixing of Flu viruses in a patient - not only in animals such as birds and pigs.
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Why is it important?
Flu evolution can be driven by reassortment - generally inducing large changes and held responsible for the genesis of Flu viruses of concern, such as bidflu H5N1 and the novel H7N9. Here we show one of the few detections of patients as mixing vessels for Flu viruses. This is particularly noteworthy for situations where people are in close contact with animals that can have animal influenza viruses (birds, pigs). Assuring vaccination against seasonal human influenza in these groups could reduce the overall risk of virus mixing in a patient. However, this would not affect the extensive virus mixing that occurs in various animal species.
Perspectives
More research should focus on the risk of new viruses being generated through reassortment in humans - particularly in occupationally exposed workers: Could we and should we focus on seasonal influenza vaccination in people with exposure to birds in H5N1 and H7N9 regions? Previous pandemics (e.g. H3N2 1968 and H1N1 2009) and zoonotic viruses (e.g. H5Nx 1996-now, H7N9 2013-now) arose in animal hosts through reassortment. Many different Flu viruses are prevalent in animals (including wild birds) and currently impossible to control. However, Flu is changing so rapidly and continues to surprise - the angle of humans as mixing vessels should not be ignored.
Stephanie Sonnberg
Takeda Vaccines, Inc.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Pandemic Seasonal H1N1 Reassortants Recovered from Patient Material Display a Phenotype Similar to That of the Seasonal Parent, Journal of Virology, June 2016, ASM Journals,
DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00772-16.
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