#Infection and #transmission dynamics of #bovine and #human #influenza A #H5N1 viruses in mouse and hamster #models
Abstract Here we investigated the pathogenesis and contact transmission of bovine- and human-derived highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b genotype B3.13 viruses in mammalian models . Using reverse genetics , we rescued three naturally occurring viruses : rTX2/24 (bovine-derived), rTexas/37 and rMichigan/90 (both human-derived), and compared their infection dynamics , replication and pathogenicity with the wild-type bovine TX2/24 strain in vitro and in vivo . All four viruses demonstrated comparable replication kinetics in four mammalian cell lines. However, the rMichigan/90 strain exhibited significantly smaller plaques in bovine and human cells . In vivo studies showed that mice infected with any of the viruses succumbed to infection within 4-5 days ; however, mice infected with the rMichigan/90 virus exhibited slightly lower viral replication and shedding compared to the other strains. Similarly, as in the mouse experiments, in hamsters, all viruses indu...