Bovine H5N1 HPAI virus shows weak binding to human-type sialic acid receptors
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the Scripps Institute have posted a preprint on the bioRxiv server (August 2, 2024). Their study provides reassuring evidence that the bovine B3.13 genotype of H5N1 binds poorly to human (α2,6-linked) receptor cells.
The study suggests that the bovine H5N1 virus has maintained strict specificity for binding to avian-type receptors and clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses bind poorly to human receptors. Previous studies suggest that several HA mutations are needed to substantially change the specificity of the H5N1 virus to human-type receptor specificity (Thompson et al., 2021).
In his book "Vaccinated," Paul Offit writes about Maurice Hillman's opinion regarding the pandemic potential of the bird flu virus. Dr. Maurice Hillman, a leading scientist in the field of vaccinology, reasoned that bird flu wouldn’t become a pandemic virus until it spread easily among people. H5 viruses have circulated for more than a hundred years and have never been very contagious. Hillman believed that they never would be. He noted that only three types of hemagglutinins had ever caused pandemic disease in humans: H1, H2, and H3. Let's hope he is right.
Thompson, A. J. & Paulson, J. C. Adaptation of influenza viruses to human airway receptors. J Biol Chem 296, 100017, (2021)
