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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2025, Vol. 24 Issue (6): 2342-2355    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2023.12.033
Animal Science · Veterinary Medicine Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Evolution and biological characteristics of the circulated H8N4 avian influenza viruses

Hong Zhang1*, Jing Guo1*, Peng Peng2*, Mengjing Wang1, Jinyan Shen1, Xiaohong Sun1, Mengdi Guan1, Pengfei Cui3, Guohua Deng3, Dong Chu2, Xuyong Li1#

1 College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, China

2 Biological Disaster Control and Prevention Center, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Shenyang 110034, China

3 Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, National Poultry Laboratory Animal Resource Center, Harbin 150069, China

 Highlights 
The systematic analysis of the available data enhances our comprehension of the spatial and temporal distribution of H8 subtype avian influenza viruses.
The genetic diversity of avian influenza viruses in migratory birds along the East Asia–Australasia migratory flyway contributes to the emergence and evolution of the H8N4 isolate detected in eastern China.
The H8N4 virus poses a potential threat to waterfowl and mammals due to its efficient replication in ducks and mice.
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摘要  
野鸟中广泛流行的禽流感病毒极易通过野鸟-家禽或者鸟类-哺乳动物的交界面外溢至家禽或哺乳动物。H8N4亚型禽流感病毒属于稀有亚型,鲜有家禽感染H8N4禽流感病毒的报道。野生迁徙水禽是H8N4亚型禽流感病毒的主要储存库。目前,我们对该亚型病毒的生态学、流行病学以及生物学特性了解较少。本研究中,我们对H8N4亚型禽流感病毒的时空流行规律、宿主分布等进行了系统的统计和分析,详细绘制了病毒的遗传进化图谱。我们还报道了一株2022年在中国东部迁徙的白骨顶鸡分离的H8N4病毒,并对该病毒的生物学特性进行了系统研究。动物感染实验发现这株野鸟源的H8N4病毒可以在SPF家鸭体内有效复制和传播,但对SPF鸡的适应性较差。该野鸟源的H8N4病毒无需提前适应就可以在小鼠体内有效复制。这些结果表明,野鸭是H8N4亚型禽流感病毒的主要宿主,家鸭对该病毒的感染风险较高。因此,在野生水禽和家养水禽界面开展系统性的禽流感病毒监测将有助于及时发现这些病毒的流行和传播规律。


Abstract  

The circulating avian influenza viruses in wild birds have a high possibility of spillover into domestic birds or mammals at the wild bird–domestic bird or bird–mammal interface.  H8N4 viruses primarily circulate in migratory wild waterfowl and have rarely been identified in domestic birds.  In this study, we summarized the spatial and temporal distribution of global H8 viruses, specified their natural reservoirs, and performed detailed evolutionary analysis on the dominant H8N4 viruses.  Here, we also report a novel H8N4 virus isolated from a Eurasian coot sample from a wetland in eastern China in 2022.  Animal infection studies indicated that the wild bird-originated H8N4 virus can replicate and transmit efficiently in ducks but has not adapted to chickens.  Additionally, this naturally isolated H8N4 virus can replicate in mice without prior adaptation.  These results indicate that H8 viruses exist mainly in the wild duck reservoir and pose a high infection risk to domestic ducks.  Therefore, the active surveillance of influenza viruses at the wild and domestic waterfowl interface will contribute to monitoring the circulation of these viruses.


Keywords:  avian influenza viruses       H8N4       wild birds  
Received: 31 July 2023   Online: 03 January 2024   Accepted: 24 November 2023
Fund: 
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFD1800200), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China (ZR2021MC087), and the State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, China (SKLVBF202201).
About author:  #Correspondence Xuyong Li, E-mail: lixuyong@lcu.edu.cn *These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

Hong Zhang, Jing Guo, Peng Peng, Mengjing Wang, Jinyan Shen, Xiaohong Sun, Mengdi Guan, Pengfei Cui, Guohua Deng, Dong Chu, Xuyong Li. 2025. Evolution and biological characteristics of the circulated H8N4 avian influenza viruses. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(6): 2342-2355.

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