Avian influenza viruses typically require several mutations to adapt and spread among humans, but what happens when just one change can increase the risk of becoming a pandemic virus? A recent study reveals that a single mutation in the H5N1 'bird flu' virus that has recently infected dairy cows in the U.S.
Scientists identify mutation that could facilitate H5N1 ' bird flu ' virus infection and potential transmission in humansAvian influenza viruses typically require several mutations to adapt and spread among humans, but what happens when just one change can increase the risk of becoming a pandemic virus? A recent study reveals that a single mutation in the H5N1 ' bird flu ' virus that has recently infected dairy cows in the U.S.
"Monitoring changes in receptor specificity is crucial because receptor binding is a key step toward transmissibility," says Ian Wilson, DPhil, co-senior author and the Hansen Professor of Structural Biology at Scripps Research."That being said, receptor mutations alone don't guarantee that the virus will transmit between humans."
"The findings demonstrate how easily this virus could evolve to recognize human-type receptors," says first author Ting-Hui Lin, a postdoctoral associate at Scripps Research."However, our study doesn't suggest that such evolution has occurred or that the current H5N1 virus with only this mutation would be transmissible between humans."
The shift alone, however, may not be enough to enable human-to-human transmission. Other genetic changes -- such as mutations in polymerase basic 2 that enhance viral replication and stability in human cells -- would likely be necessary for the virus to spread efficiently among people. include Xueyong Zhu, Shengyang Wang, Ding Zhang, Ryan McBride, Wenli Yu and Simeon Babarinde of Scripps Research.
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