1. K-State home
  2. »DCM
  3. »K-State News
  4. »News
  5. »2015
  6. »Kansas State University researchers monitor for next novel influenza strain

K-State News

K-State News
Kansas State University
128 Dole Hall
1525 Mid-Campus Dr North
Manhattan, KS 66506

785-532-2535
media@k-state.edu

Kansas State University researchers monitor for next novel influenza strain

Tuesday, March 3, 2015


MANHATTAN — As seasonal influenza cases decrease across the United States, Kansas State University researchers are preparing for the next potential virulent strain of flu.

The work is starting with swine in the field. Juergen Richt, Regents distinguished professor of veterinary medicine and director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases, and Wenjun Ma, assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, are surveying for swine influenza viruses as part of a $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

"Swine influenza are constantly changing," Richt said. "There's a constant mutational rate, and sometimes they're changing very rapidly using a mechanism called reassortment — gene segments from one influenza virus are mixed with gene segments from a different influenza virus. We are very concerned about these genes coming together to create new surface proteins that have not been seen in the human population."

The researchers are collecting samples from diseased pig populations recorded by the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the Abilene Animal Hospital. These samples are analyzed to determine if the swine influenza could be a danger to humans.

"Swine influenza viruses infect swine and cause a respiratory disease in pigs, but they sometimes have the ability to transmit from pigs to humans," Richt said. "We hope that we are early enough in discovering these novel swine influenza viruses so that we can isolate and characterize these viruses and alert the respective authorities to control and eradicate them as soon as possible."

The Kansas State University research team has been working on this project for six years. It previously discovered a novel influenza subtype in swine from Missouri. Richt says this novel H2N3 virus was created through a reassortment from a duck influenza virus and an endemic swine influenza virus, which could have been very dangerous to human health. As the team monitored the influenza, the virus died out before it could spread.

"I think it is very important work because influenza is a threat to public health and animal health. We are providing very important information for the industry and for public health," Ma said.

The project is part of the Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance and is in collaboration with Dr. Richard Webby in the infectious diseases department at St. Jude Children's Hospital.

 

photo credit: Swine Flu Strain Virus Particles via photopin (license)

Sources

Juergen Richt
785-532-2793
jricht@k-state.edu

Wenjun Ma
785-532-4337
wma@vet.k-state.edu

Pronouncers

Juergen Richt is YUR-gen Rickt

Wenjun Ma is WHEN-june Maw

Website

CEEZAD

Written by

Lindsey Elliott
785-532-1546
lindseye@k-state.edu

At a glance

While flu season starts to die down, Kansas State University researchers are diligently monitoring for the next novel influenza virus by monitoring swine influenza viruses.

Notable quote

"Swine influenza viruses infect swine and cause a respiratory disease in pigs, but they sometimes have the ability to transmit from pigs to humans. We hope that we are early enough in discovering these novel swine influenza viruses that we can isolate and characterize these viruses and alert the respective authorities to control and eradicate them as soon as possible."

— Juergen Richt, Regents distinguished professor of veterinary medicine and director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Disease