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Originally published in Science Express on 6 July 2005
Science 19 August 2005:
Vol. 309. no. 5738, p. 1206
DOI: 10.1126/science.1115273
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Brevia

Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Influenza Virus Infection in Migratory Birds

J. Liu,1*{dagger} H. Xiao,2,4* F. Lei,3* Q. Zhu,5 K. Qin,1 X.-w. Zhang,6 X.-l. Zhang,1 D. Zhao,1 G. Wang,2,4 Y. Feng,2,4 J. Ma,2 W. Liu,2 J. Wang,6 G. F. Gao2{dagger}

H5N1 avian influenza virus (AIV) has emerged as a pathogenic entity for a variety of species, including humans, in recent years. Here we report an outbreak among migratory birds on Lake Qinghaihu, China, in May and June 2005, in which more than a thousand birds were affected. Pancreatic necrosis and abnormal neurological symptoms were the major clinical features. Sequencing of the complete genomes of four H5N1 AIV strains revealed them to be reassortants related to a peregrine falcon isolate from Hong Kong and to have known highly pathogenic characteristics. Experimental animal infections reproduced typical highly pathogenic AIV infection symptoms and pathology.

1 College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China.
2 Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China.
3 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
4 Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
5 Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China.
6 Beijing Genomics Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101300, China.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: gaof{at}im.ac.cn (G.F.G); jhl{at}cau.edu.cn (J.L.)

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)