Pirbright scientists identify how a single bird flu protein can increase period of infection
Posted: 7 February, 2019
New research led by scientists at The Pirbright Institute has shown how an influenza virus protein, called PB1-F2, is able to shut down two pathways of the chicken immune response to increase the length of time the virus can be transmitted.
The PB1-F2 protein of influenza viruses is an accessory protein meaning it is not essential for replication. However, the majority of avian influenza viruses (93%) are able to produce the PB1-F2 protein compared to human (43%) and swine (48%) influenza viruses.