Poultry, Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences
Open Access

Department of Investigations, McCullough Foundation, Dallas, USA

Publications

• Research Article   
  Proximal Origin of Epidemic Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Clade 2.3.4.4b and Spread by Migratory Waterfowl
  Author(s): Nicolas Hulscher*, John Leake and Peter A McCullough
  
  We investigate the possible laboratory origins of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b genotype B3.13, currently affecting various animal species and causing sporadic human infections. The proximal origins may be the USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL) in Athens, Georgia, and the Erasmus medical center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The first detection of HPAI H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in the Netherlands in 2020 raises concerns about earlier gain-of-function research. Genetic analysis indicates genotype B3.13, emerging in 2024, and links to genotype B1.2, which originated in Georgia in January 2022 after the start of serial passage experiments with H5Nx clade 2.3.4.4 in mallard ducks at SEPRL in Athens, Georgia, in April 2021. Genotype B1.2 was found in a bottlenose dolphin in March 2022 in Florida, indicating sudden new adapta.. View More»
  DOI: 10.35248/2375-446X.24.12.286

  Abstract HTML PDF