The threat of one new pandemic bird flu is out there. At the moment there are few and scarce cases in humans, but experts insist that the close surveillance of strains and new mutations. The transmission of the influenza A(H5N1) virus from birds to humans is considered a rare phenomenon, the lethality of the detected cases rises to 53% and important outbreaks occasionally occur.
Know what it depends on species jumping is key and so the researchers find out what could cause it. Today Nature publishes a study in which identified a protein responsible of inhibit the replication of this virus in humanswhile human flu has the ability to overcome it.
The international group of researchers explains that this protein with antiviral activity evolved in primates and they consider that resistance or sensitivity to it must be taken into account when assess zoonotic potential of avian influenza viruses.
“Our study reveals that the human BTN3A3 protein is a powerful barrier for the replication of avian influenza viruses (IAV), but not for humans”, concludes the team led by Massimo Palmarini, from the MRC-Virus Research Center of the University of Glasgow, in the United Kingdom.
“Through data obtained in vitro in cell culture assays and live in experimental animal models, in addition to comprehensive evolutionary analyses, we demonstrate that the avoidance of Human BTN3A3 is one of the risk factors for the zoonotic potential of IAVs. To date, the avian subtypes H5, H7, H9 and, less frequently, H3, H6 and H10 have spread and caused infections in humans,” he adds.