Background information
Influenza A virus is a major public health threat. Novel influenza virus strains caused by genetic drift and viral recombination emerge periodically to which humans have little or no immunity, resulting in devastating pandemics. Influenza A can exist in a variety of animals; however it is in birds that all subtypes can be found. These subtypes are classified based on the combination of the virus coat glycoproteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) subtypes. During 1997, an H5N1 avian influenza virus was determined to be the cause of death in 6 of 18 infected patients in Hong Kong. There was some evidence of human to human spread of this virus, but it is thought that the transmission efficiency was fairly low. HA interacts with cell surface proteins containing oligosaccharides with terminal sialyl residues. Virus isolated from a human infected with the H5N1 strain in 1997 could bind to oligosaccharides from human as well as avian sources, indicating its species jumping ability.
