ETIDIOH - NEW

Abstract Educational farms provide students with hands-on experience in agricultural and animal practices . However, the close contact between humans and farm animals creates a significant interface for zoonotic disease transmission , yet research on infectious diseases in such settings remains limited. This study investigates the ongoing spillovers of human-origin influenza A virus (IAV) into swine at an educational farm in central Chile , describing IAV prevalence, outbreak dynamics, and the genomic characterization of detected strains. The Menesianos educational farm, located in Melipilla, central Chile, houses approximately 40 swine alongside other domestic animals , such as horses and cows . As part of an active IAV surveillance project, monthly nasal swab samples were collected from pigs between June 2019 and September 2023 for IAV detection via RT-qPCR targeting the M gene, with positive samples subsequently sequenced. During the study period, monthly IAV prevalence ranged from ...

Abstract Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) belonging to lineage 2.3.4.4b emerged in Chile in December 2022, leading to mass mortality events in wild birds, poultry, and marine mammals and one human case . We detected HPAIV in 7,33% (714/9745) of cases between December 2022–April 2023 and sequenced 177 H5N1 virus genomes from poultry, marine mammals, a human, and wild birds spanning >3800 km of Chilean coastline . Chilean viruses were closely related to Peru’s H5N1 outbreak, consistent with north-to-south spread down the Pacific coastline . One human virus and nine marine mammal viruses in Chile had the rare PB2 D701N mammalian-adaptation mutation and clustered phylogenetically despite being sampled 5 weeks and hundreds of kilometers apart . These viruses shared additional genetic signatures , including another mammalian PB2 adaptation (Q591K, n = 6), synonymous mutations, and minor variants. Several mutations were detected months later in sealions in the Atlanti...

Abstract Pigs serve as a mixing vessel for influenza viruses and can independently promote the emergence of pandemic strains in humans. During our surveillance of pig populations from 2021 to 2023 in China , 11 H1 subtype swine influenza viruses (SIVs) were isolated. All viruses were reassortants , possessing internal genes of identical origins ( PB2, PB1, PA, NP, M : pdm09/H1N1 origin, NS : North American triple reassortant origin). The H1N1 isolates were all the dominant G4 EA H1N1 viruses in China. Two H1N2 isolates carried early human pdm09/H1N1 HA genes, suggesting a possible pig-to-human transmission route. Mutations that dictate host range specificity were identified in all isolates, a phenomenon which may enhance the affinity to human receptors. These H1 subtype viruses effectively replicated both in vivo and in vitro without prior adaptation and exhibited different pathogenicity and growth characteristics. Some of the H1 viruses were even found to cause lethal infections in mi...

Abstract Influenza A virus (IAV) continuously threatens animal and public health globally , with swine serving as a crucial reservoir for viral reassortment and evolution . In Chile , H1N2 and H3N2 subtypes were introduced in the swine population before the H1N1 2009 pandemic, and the H1N1 was introduced from the H1N1pdm09 by successive reverse zoonotic events . Here, we report two novel introductions of IAV H3N2 human-origin in Chilean swine during 2023. Our study reveals a closer relationship between recent human seasonal H3N2 and novel swine strains. Interestingly, one strain maintains all the genes from the original human virus , but the other strain is already a reassortment of human H3N2 and an H1N2 previously observed on the farm. Observing global IAV sequences, a similar pattern was identified in the USA confirming the reverse zoonotic potential of current seasonal human H3N2 strains. These results highlight the importance of ongoing surveillance and reinforcing biosecurity in ...