H7N8 In South Korea
Recombinomics Commentary
November 26, 2007
Avian influenza virus was isolated from pooled fecal samples collected from a duck-raising farm in Kwangju-Jikhalsi, south-western part of the Republic of Korea.
The virus was proved to be low pathogenic avian influenza virus serotype H7N8, but according to the Korean avian influenza emergency action plan, 19,200 ducklings in the affected farm and the three 3 neighbouring farms were stamped out.
The above comments from the recent OIE report indicate the serotype of the H7 reported in South Korea was H7N8. There are only a few H7N8 isolates listed at Genbank, and all are from wild birds. The N8 from the public sequences is most closely related to N8 isolates from wild birds also. Only one of the H7N8 isolates is from Asia, which originated in a swan in Japan in 1999. The location (see satellite map) in South Korea is closely to migration paths.
Recently there have been H3N8 outbreaks in Mongolia and China. Wild birds migrate from Mongolia to South Korea at this time of the year. In the spring of 2005, H7 was reported in North Korea.
The sequences from the H7N8 outbreak would be useful.
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