Different Infectivity and Transmissibility of H5N8 and H5N1 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Viruses Isolated from Chickens in Japan in the 2021/2022 Season

Yoshihiro Takadate; Ryota Tsunekuni; Asuka Kumagai; Junki Mine; Yuto Kikutani; Saki Sakuma; Kohtaro Miyazawa; Yuko Uchida

doi:10.3390/v15020265

Different Infectivity and Transmissibility of H5N8 and H5N1 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Viruses Isolated from Chickens in Japan in the 2021/2022 Season

Viruses. 2023 Jan 17;15(2):265. doi: 10.3390/v15020265.

Authors

Yoshihiro Takadate¹, Ryota Tsunekuni¹, Asuka Kumagai¹, Junki Mine¹, Yuto Kikutani², Saki Sakuma¹, Kohtaro Miyazawa¹, Yuko Uchida¹

Affiliations

¹ Emerging Virus Group, Division of Zoonosis Research, National Institute of Animal Health, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Ibaraki 305856, Japan.
² National Veterinary Assay Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tokyo 1858511, Japan.

Abstract

H5N8 and H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) caused outbreaks in poultry farms in Japan from November 2021 to May 2022. Hemagglutinin genes of these viruses belong to clade 2.3.4.4B and can be divided phylogenetically into the following groups: 20A, 20E, and 21E. In this study, we compared the infectivity and transmissibility of HPAIVs from three groups of chickens. Representative strains from 20A, 20E, and 21E groups are A/chicken/Akita/7C/2021(H5N8)(Akita7C), A/chicken/Kagoshima/21A6T/2021(H5N1)(Kagoshima6T), and A/chicken/Iwate/21A7T/2022(H5N1)(Iwate7T), respectively. Fifty percent lethal dose of Akita7C in chickens (10^3.83 fifty percent egg infectious dose (EID50)) was up to seven times lower than those of Kagoshima6T and Iwate7T (10^4.50 and 10^4.68 EID_50, respectively). Mean death times for Akita7C- and Kagoshima6T-infected chickens (3.45 and 3.30 days, respectively) were at least a day longer than that of Iwate7T (2.20 days). Viral titers of the trachea and cloaca of Iwate7T-infected chicken were the highest detected. The transmission rate of the Akita7C strain (100%) was markedly higher than those of the two strains (<50%). These data suggest that the infectivity and transmissibility of the Akita7C strain (H5N8) in chickens are higher than those of H5N1 viruses, providing fundamental information needed for formulating effective prevention and control strategies for HPAI outbreaks.

Keywords: 2021/2022 season; H5N1; H5N8; Japan; chicken; high pathogenicity avian influenza virus; infectivity; transmissibility.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Chickens
Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype* / genetics
Influenza A Virus, H5N8 Subtype* / genetics
Influenza A virus*
Influenza in Birds* / epidemiology
Japan / epidemiology
Seasons
Virulence

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Regulatory research projects for food safety, animal health, and plant protection (the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and the Fisheries of Japan), grant number JPJ008617.18065101.