Variable transmission efficiency of mammalian origin HPAI D1.1 H5N1 strains in ferrets
- 1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- 2Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- 3Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Abstract
Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 2.3.4.4b genotype D1.1 lineage continues to predominate in the United States wild bird population and has spilled over into dairy cattle three independent times. To assess the transmission risk of this sublineage, we performed direct-contact transmission experiments for three distinct D1.1 strains in ferrets. Two of these strains were isolated from humans and one from a lethal cat infection. We found that only one human isolate (A/NV/10/2025) was able to transmit efficiently between ferrets. Compared to the other strains, this isolate harboured the mammalian adaptive PB2 D701N mutation, suggesting this mutation may be a candidate contributing to enhanced transmission efficiency of D1.1 as opposed to the PB2 E627 K substitution present in the lethal cat isolate. Based on these data, we conclude that the transmission fitness of D1.1 strains is modest, but special attention should be paid to emergence of adaptation at the PB2 701 position.
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BibTeX
@article{quirk2026variable,
title = {{Variable transmission efficiency of mammalian origin HPAI D1.1 H5N1 strains in ferrets}},
author = {Grace E. Quirk and Michelle N. Vu and Valerie M. Le Sage and Kaitlyn Bushfield-Thomason and Hanh Dung Nguyen and Seema S. Lakdawala},
journal = {Emerging Microbes \& Infections},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1080/22221751.2026.2751725},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2026.2751725},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Variable transmission efficiency of mammalian origin HPAI D1.1 H5N1 strains in ferrets
AU - Grace E. Quirk
AU - Michelle N. Vu
AU - Valerie M. Le Sage
AU - Kaitlyn Bushfield-Thomason
AU - Hanh Dung Nguyen
AU - Seema S. Lakdawala
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Emerging Microbes & Infections
DO - 10.1080/22221751.2026.2751725
UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2026.2751725
AB - Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 2.3.4.4b genotype D1.1 lineage continues to predominate in the United States wild bird population and has spilled over into dairy cattle three independent times. To assess the transmission risk of this sublineage, we performed direct-contact transmission experiments for three distinct D1.1 strains in ferrets. Two of these strains were isolated from humans and one from a lethal cat infection. We found that only one human isolate (A/NV/10/2025) was able to transmit efficiently between ferrets. Compared to the other strains, this isolate harboured the mammalian adaptive PB2 D701N mutation, suggesting this mutation may be a candidate contributing to enhanced transmission efficiency of D1.1 as opposed to the PB2 E627 K substitution present in the lethal cat isolate. Based on these data, we conclude that the transmission fitness of D1.1 strains is modest, but special attention should be paid to emergence of adaptation at the PB2 701 position.
SN - 2222-1751
ER -