H7N7 Netherlands

The H7N7 Influenza-A virus, specifically the A/Netherlands/219/03 strain, is a subtype of the Influenza A virus. This particular strain has garnered significant attention due to its recombinant nature and its implications in both veterinary and human health.

Influenza A viruses are a genus of the Orthomyxoviridae family of viruses. They are known to cause influenza in birds and some mammals, including humans. The virus is characterized by its surface proteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), which are used to classify the virus into subtypes. The H7N7 subtype is one such classification, where “H7” refers to the hemagglutinin type and “N7” refers to the neuraminidase type .

The A/Netherlands/219/03 strain of the H7N7 virus was first identified in the Netherlands in 2003. This strain is notable for its high pathogenicity in poultry and its ability to infect humans, leading to severe respiratory illness. The recombinant nature of this virus means that it has undergone genetic reassortment, which can lead to new and potentially more virulent strains .

Recombinant proteins of the H7N7 A/Netherlands/219/03 strain are produced for research and diagnostic purposes. These proteins are typically expressed in systems such as HEK293 cells and are used to study the virus’s structure and function. For example, the recombinant neuraminidase protein from this strain consists of 455 amino acids and has a molecular mass of approximately 50.6 kDa .

The study of recombinant proteins from the H7N7 A/Netherlands/219/03 strain has several important applications:

• Vaccine Development: Understanding the structure and function of viral proteins can aid in the development of vaccines.
• Diagnostic Tools: Recombinant proteins can be used to develop diagnostic assays to detect the presence of the virus in clinical samples.
• Therapeutic Research: Insights into the virus’s mechanisms of infection and replication can lead to the development of antiviral drugs.