Molecular epidemiology of influenza A (H5N6) viruses from human infections in Jiangsu Province, China
- 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huai’an Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Huai’an, 223003, China; Huai’an Key Laboratory of Emergency Testing for Public Health Incidents, Huai’an 223003, China
- 2Department of Acute Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing 210008, China
- 3Department of Acute Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing 210008, China; Corresponding authors at: Department of Acute Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing 210008, China.
Abstract
Background: Human infections with avian influenza A (H5N6) have been reported with increasing frequency in recent years. This study aims to systematically characterize the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of human H5N6 infections in Jiangsu Province, China, in order to inform epidemic prevention and control strategies and support clinical diagnosis. Methods: Human cases of H5N6 infections were collected in Jiangsu Province. Clinical and epidemiological data of the cases were investigated and analyzed. Phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses were performed using the Jiangsu-derived viral strains together with publicly available reference sequences, employing MEGA and BEAST, and R packages. Results: Between November 2018 and the present, five laboratory-confirmed human cases of avian influenza A (H5N6) infection were reported in Jiangsu Province. The ages of the patients ranged from 6 to 81 years. All close contacts tested negative for H5N6 nucleic acid. Environmental investigations revealed only one sample positive for H5N6 nucleic acid. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all hemagglutination genes clustered within evolutionary branch 2.3.4.4h and 2.3.4.4b. The median time to the most recent common ancestor of the Jiangsu viruses was estimated to be December 2009 for the HA gene and July 2014 for the neuraminidase gene. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive overview of the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of human H5N6 infections in Jiangsu Province. No evidence of human-to-human transmission was found among the infected cases and their close contacts. However, the ongoing genetic evolution of H5N6 viruses may increase the risk of human infection and warrants continued surveillance.
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BibTeX
@article{he2026molecular,
title = {{Molecular epidemiology of influenza A (H5N6) viruses from human infections in Jiangsu Province, China}},
author = {Fang He and Pengfei Yang and Haodi Huang and Xian Qi and Xiaoli Li and Yadong Xing and Fei Deng and Ke Xu and Shenjiao Wang and Liguo Zhu and Huiyan Yu},
journal = {Infectious Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1016/j.imj.2026.100299},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imj.2026.100299},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Molecular epidemiology of influenza A (H5N6) viruses from human infections in Jiangsu Province, China
AU - Fang He
AU - Pengfei Yang
AU - Haodi Huang
AU - Xian Qi
AU - Xiaoli Li
AU - Yadong Xing
AU - Fei Deng
AU - Ke Xu
AU - Shenjiao Wang
AU - Liguo Zhu
AU - Huiyan Yu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/07
JO - Infectious Medicine
DO - 10.1016/j.imj.2026.100299
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imj.2026.100299
AB - Background: Human infections with avian influenza A (H5N6) have been reported with increasing frequency in recent years. This study aims to systematically characterize the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of human H5N6 infections in Jiangsu Province, China, in order to inform epidemic prevention and control strategies and support clinical diagnosis. Methods: Human cases of H5N6 infections were collected in Jiangsu Province. Clinical and epidemiological data of the cases were investigated and analyzed. Phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses were performed using the Jiangsu-derived viral strains together with publicly available reference sequences, employing MEGA and BEAST, and R packages. Results: Between November 2018 and the present, five laboratory-confirmed human cases of avian influenza A (H5N6) infection were reported in Jiangsu Province. The ages of the patients ranged from 6 to 81 years. All close contacts tested negative for H5N6 nucleic acid. Environmental investigations revealed only one sample positive for H5N6 nucleic acid. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all hemagglutination genes clustered within evolutionary branch 2.3.4.4h and 2.3.4.4b. The median time to the most recent common ancestor of the Jiangsu viruses was estimated to be December 2009 for the HA gene and July 2014 for the neuraminidase gene. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive overview of the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of human H5N6 infections in Jiangsu Province. No evidence of human-to-human transmission was found among the infected cases and their close contacts. However, the ongoing genetic evolution of H5N6 viruses may increase the risk of human infection and warrants continued surveillance.
SN - 2772-431X
ER -