An avian influenza virus, A/environment/Zhenjiang/C13/2013(H5N6), was isolated from a live poultry market in eastern China. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolate was a novel reassortant virus with a neuraminidase (NA) gene from H6N6 viruses and the other seven genes from H5N1 viruses, which may pose a potential threat to human and animal health.

In 2014, novel highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N2, H5N5, H5N6, and H5N8 viruses caused outbreaks in Asia, Europe, and North America. The H5 genes of these viruses form a monophyletic group that evolved from a clade 2.3.4 H5N1 variant. This rapid emergence of new H5Nx combinations is unprecedented in the H5N1 evolutionary history.

Outbreaks of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) have caused economic loss for the poultry industry and posed a threat to public health. In South Korea, novel reassortants of HPAIVs such as H5N6 and H5N8 had been circulating in poultry. Here, we will discuss the identity of recent novel reassortants of Korean H5 HPAIVs and the recent advances in vaccine development, which will...

To the Editor: Avian influenza A viruses generally do not cause disease in aquatic birds, the natural reservoir of these viruses (1). Influenza A(H5N6) was first isolated from mallards by García et al. in 1975 (2). Influenza viruses continue to evolve and reassort to generate novel, highly pathogenic viruses. Novel H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtypes, such as H5N2, H5N5, and H5N...

A field strain of H3N6 avian influenza virus (AIV), A/duck/Guangxi/175D12/2014(H3N6), was isolated from a native duck in Guangxi Province, southern China, in 2014. All of the eight AIV gene segments were sequenced, and sequence results revealed that there were 11 amino acid deletions at the NA stalk region. The NA, PB2, and NP genes showed highest homology to H5N6 AIV, and the PA gene showed hi...

Introduction Since the emergence of avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in 2013, extensive surveillances have been established to monitor the human infection and environmental contamination with avian influenza virus in southern China. At the end of 2015, human infection with influenza A(H5N6) virus was identified in Shenzhen for the first time through these surveillances. These surveillances include...

During December 15, 2014-January 16, 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture received 14 reports of birds infected with Asian-origin, highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI) (H5N2), (H5N8), and (H5N1) viruses. These reports represent the first reported infections with these viruses in U.S. wild or domestic birds. Although these viruses are not known to have caused disease in humans, their a...