Biological Characterisation of the Emerged Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

The authors examined the genetic sequence of highly pathogenic Asian lineage A(H7N9) sampled from infected humans in comparison with low pathogenic Asian lineage A(H7N9) virus samples. The HPAI virus showed a slightly increased binding preference for receptors in both the upper and lower human airways. The authors also found that the HPAI virus did not react strongly with the antisera of the vaccine strain recommended for LPAI A(H7N9) and that HPAI A(H7N9) with the 292K amino acid substitution in the NA protein, which could be acquired two days following administration of antiviral drugs, exhibited multi-drug resistance.