1933 Sequences in 2004 Korean H1N1 Swine Isolates Raise Concern

[pandemic_1918]

http://www.flu.org.cn/news/20041259793.htm#

1933 Sequences in 2004 Korean H1N1 Swine Isolates Raise Concern
Published: December ,17,2004 8:29 AM Beijing Time
By Henry L. Niman
Special to Recombinomics, Inc.


The swine sequences release by GenBank this week would appear to be cause for concern. Six of the isolates were from swine in South Korea and they have both reassorted and recombined genes (between a common Korean avian, H9N2 sequences and genes virtually identical to WSN/33). This is of significant concern because WSN/33 is a neurotropic component of WS/33, the first human influenza virus isolated. WSN/33 was obtained from serial passages of WS/33 in mouse brains in 1940. It is lethal in mice and is H1N1 so it should also readily infect humans. The N in WSN has lost a glycosylation site and binds plasminogen to facilitate HA cleavage.

Two of the swine isolates are H1N1 and they have the same alteration which abolishes the glycosylation site. These two isolates, A/swine/Korea/S10/2004 and A/swine/Korea/S109/2004 have 7 WSN/33. Only PB2 is related to Korean H9N2 isolates. 4 other swine isolates are H9N2 and have 3-5 WSN/33 genes.

It would seem that swine shedding H1N1 virus from 1933 would pose a serious health threat. The 1933 virus has significant homology with the 1918 pandemic strain and was actually isolated for the study of neurotropic disease caused by the 1918 pandemic strain.

It seems that people born after 1933 would have limited immunity to the H1N1 virus isolated from the swine in South Korea ........

[pandemic_1918]

1. Breaking Story in China

It is pretty ironic that the story is breaking in China before the US (but it should be widely reported soon).

http://www.recombinomics.com/WSN33_Beijing.html

[goforit]

2. Playing with fire,eh?

Crazy SOBs

[warrens]

3. For us science-challenged journos...

Is this really saying that a strain of flu identical to the 1918 strain has been found in common hogs in South Korea? I went to the site and couldn't find any information about which hogs these were, etc. Are these common eating hogs or experimental ones who may have been infected with the virus for whatever reason?

[pandemic_1918]

4. 1933 Human Flu is WSN/33

The human genes are from WSN/33, which is a human virus first isolated in 1933

http://www.recombinomics.com/1933_2004_H1N1.html

The sequences are on farms in South Korea in pigs raised for eating.

[warrens]

5. Thanks

Going to do a short item and see what happens.

[GAspnes]

6. From Scientific American, Jan 2005

SA Perspectives

Worth A Pound of Cure

A global influenza pandemic is closer than at any time in a generation. Klaus Stöhr, head of flu surveillance at the World Health Organization, made that uncharacteristically dramatic declaration back in November, before convening an emergency summit of vaccine manufacturers and national health agency officials. The reason was the escalating avian influenza crisis in 10 Asian countries, which poses a direct threat to human health.

Because the avian virus, known as H5N1, is lethal in chickens, indentifying local outbreaks was easy. Stöhr was alarmed by evidence that the virus is also widespread in the region's domestic ducks, which show no symptoms. With asymptomatic ducks waddling through barnyards, backyards and kitchens shedding virus, hope of stamping out this largest avian flue outbreak in history has dimmed. And the likelihood of human exposure to the virus, which could spark a pandemic, has increased. "We know the recipie, and all the ingredients are there," Stöhr said.

---------------------

There's more to the editorial, and an excellent article, "Capturing a Killer Flu Virus," by Jeffery K. Taubenberger, Ann H. Reid and Thomas G. Fanning. The article describes how they extracted the 1918 strain RNA (by exhuming victims buried in permafrost) and have sequenced the genome. A sidebar discusses the British effort to create a seed strain of H5N1 and, thence, a vaccine which should be going into testing just about now.

Edited for spelling and umlauts

[lazarus]

7. And a few months ago

I read an article about scientists' attempting to extract and isolate the 1918 influenza from corpses.

Hmm....

[NMDemDist2]

8. Japan Has First Case of Bird Flu in Human

By KOZO MIZOGUCHI, Associated Press Writer
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041222/ap_on_he_me/japan_bird_flu

TOKYO - Japan reported its first case of bird flu in a human on Wednesday — a man who got the disease from birds. Bird flu has swept through farms across Asia this year, forcing officials to cull more than 100 million birds. The disease has also jumped to humans, killing 12 people in Thailand and 20 in Vietnam.



Although there has been no evidence of human-to-human transmission, experts worry that the virus could mutate into a version easily spread among people, setting off a global pandemic.

The man caught the bird flu virus while disinfecting a contaminated poultry farm in western Kyoto during an outbreak in Japan earlier this year, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry took blood samples from about 86 people who may have been exposed. One tested positive for antibodies for the disease, confirming the infection. Four others may also have been infected but the tests were inconclusive.