Estimating evolutionary history and geographic spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus.

摘要

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 subtype is one of the few subtypes of Influenza A virus, which has transmitted from wild birds to domestic ducks, and caused disease out breaks in poultry populations and occasional infections in human. Since 1996, HPAI H5N1 virus has rapidly evolved and spread to new geographic regions. These viruses have diverged from the ancestral population. As a consequence, prevention and control of disease outbreak is problematic. The ecological success of this virus in diverse avian and mammalian species with frequent introduction to humans suggests that this virus has high pandemic potential. Therefore for successful control and better preparedness of future pandemic threats it is essential to understand virus evolutionary histories. In this study I used a Bayesian framework to model geographic movement in a comparative genetic analysis to estimate the phylogenetic and migration history, and to identify correlation between virus diversification and geographic spread. The findings of this study support a correlation between virus geographic spread and genetic diversity. As regional sublineages continue to circulate, those regions may play a critical role in the continual spread if HPAI H5N1 virus population.