Abstract
Pigs have long been recognized as “mixing vessels” in which new viruses are formed by reassortment involving various influenza virus lineages (avian, animal, human). However, surveillance of swine influenza viruses only gained real significance after the 2009 pandemic. A fundamentally important point is the fact that there is still no regular surveillance of swine flu in Russia, and the role of swine viruses is underestimated since, as a rule, they do not cause serious disease in animals. Since the pig population in Russia is large, it is obvious that the lack of monitoring and insufficient study of swine influenza evolution constitutes a gap in animal influenza surveillance, not only for Russia, but globally. A 6 year joint effort enabled identification of SIV subtypes that circulate in the pig population of Russia’s European geographic region. The swine influenza viruses isolated were antigenically and genetically diverse. Some were similar to human influenza viruses of A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) subtype, while others were reassortant A(H1pdm09N2) and A(H1avN2) and were antigenically distinct from human H1N1 and H1N1pdm09 strains. Analysis of swine serum samples collected throughout the seasons showed that the number of sera positive for influenza viruses has increased in recent years. This indicates that swine populations are highly susceptible to infection with human influenza viruses. It also stresses the need for regular SIV surveillance, monitoring of viral evolution, and strengthening of pandemic preparedness.
Highlights
The ability to monitor, identify and predict infectious disease outbreaks caused by zoonotic pathogens relies heavily on understanding their ecology and evolution
Global experts have called for increased swine influenza virus surveillance, including detailed systematic analysis of pathogen properties, in order to identify viruses posing a potential threat to humans in a timely manner (Ma et al, 2009; Nelson et al, 2012; Nelson and Vincent, 2015)
This virus was similar to the human influenza A (H1N1) virus circulating at that time and was termed “classic” swine flu (Schultz-Cherry et al, 2013)
Summary
The ability to monitor, identify and predict infectious disease outbreaks caused by zoonotic pathogens relies heavily on understanding their ecology and evolution. The first swine influenza A virus was isolated in the United States in the 1930s This virus was similar to the human influenza A (H1N1) virus circulating at that time and was termed “classic” swine flu (Schultz-Cherry et al, 2013). In 1979, a virus of wild duck origin and antigenically distinct from the “classic” swine A(H1N1) strain was identified in Europe (Zell et al, 2013). This avian strain rapidly and completely supplanted “classic” swine flu viruses circulating in the European continent and spread in Asia. In the 1980s, reassortant H1N2 viruses were detected in England, and in Europe, giving rise to new swine influenza lineages (Brown et al, 1998)
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