ArticleMicrobiology spectrum2023
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Virus Infections in Wild Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) Show Neurotropism and Adaptive Virus Mutations.
Article in Microbiology spectrum, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transmission Pathways of Zoonotic Influenza Viruses and Influencing Factors: A Systematic Review of Recent Findings.Viruses · 2025Pooled it
- Receptor basis of unusual tissue tropism of avian influenza H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b virus in cattle.Science advances · 2026Article
- Serologic Surveillance of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Subtype H5 in Wildlife, Northeast Germany, 2023-2025.Emerging infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Host-specific functional evolution of seal influenza A virus NS1 protein following avian-to-seal transmission.Journal of virology · 2026Article
- Fatal H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza with Retrograde Neuroinvasion in a Free-Ranging Leopard Cat (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Evidence of High Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Clade 2.3.4.4b Among Poultry in Ghana From 2021 to 2022.Veterinary medicine and science · 2026Article
- Expanding Horizons: Host Range Evolution and Treatment Strategies for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 and H7N9.Viruses · 2025Review
- Article
- Influenza A Virus H5N1 Subtype: Resurgent Interspecies and Intercontinental Transmission, and a New Host.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The haemagglutinin gene of bovine-origin H5N1 influenza viruses currently retains receptor-binding and pH-fusion characteristics of avian host phenotype.Emerging microbes & infections · 2025Article
- Unique phenomenon of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in China: co-circulation of Clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 and H5N6 results in diversity of H5 Virus.Emerging microbes & infections · 2025Article
- Marked neurotropism and potential adaptation of H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4.b virus in naturally infected domestic cats.Emerging microbes & infections · 2025Article
- Review
- Recent advances in lateral flow devices and point-of-care diagnostics for highly pathogenic avian influenza A viruses.Journal of virology · 2025Review
- Article
- Natural infections of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 in wild birds between 2020 and 2023 in the UK: a retrospective study with focus on microscopic lesions, viral distribution and neurotropism.Veterinary research · 2025Article
- Differential Host Responses and Viral Replication of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Strains in Diverse Cell Lines with a Raw Milk Supplement.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Feline high pathogenicity avian influenza H5N1 infection: past and present.Journal of feline medicine and surgery · 2025Review
- The Role of Foxes in Transmitting Zoonotic Bacteria to Humans: A Scoping Review.Zoonoses and public health · 2025Article
- Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
During the 2020 to 2022 epizootic of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI), several infections of mammalian species were reported in Europe. In the Netherlands, HPAI H5N1 virus infections were detected in three wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) that were submitted with neurological symptoms between December of 2021 and February of 2022. A histopathological analysis demonstrated that the virus was mainly present in the brain, with limited or no detection in the respiratory tract or other organs. Limited or no virus shedding was observed in throat and rectal swabs. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the three fox viruses were not closely related, but they were related to HPAI H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b viruses that are found in wild birds. This suggests that the virus was not transmitted between the foxes. A genetic analysis demonstrated the presence of the mammalian adaptation E627K in the polymerase basic two (PB2) protein of the two fox viruses. In both foxes, the avian (PB2-627E) and the mammalian (PB2-627K) variants were present as a mixture in the virus population, which suggests that the mutation emerged in these specific animals. The two variant viruses were isolated, and virus replication and passaging experiments were performed. These experiments showed that the mutation PB2-627K increases the replication of the virus in mammalian cell lines, compared to the chicken cell line, and at the lower temperatures of the mammalian upper respiratory tract. This study showed that the HPAI H5N1 virus is capable of adaptation to mammals; however, more adaptive mutations are required to allow for efficient transmission between mammals. Therefore, surveillance in mammals should be expanded to closely monitor the emergence of zoonotic mutations for pandemic preparedness.
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