Emerging H7N9 virus has potential to cause a pandemic

Virus attaches to both upper and lower respiratory tract epithelium, according to report in The American Journal of Pathology. A new study has found that a novel avian-origin H7N9 influenza A virus, which has recently emerged in humans, attaches moderately or abundantly to the epithelium of both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. This pattern has not been observed before for avian influenza A viruses. The report, published in the October issue of  The American Journal of Pathology, suggests that the emerging H7N9 virus has the potential to cause a pandemic, since it may transmit efficiently in humans and cause severe pneumonia. The first report of infections of humans with the influenza A virus of the subtype H7N9 surfaced in March 2013. Three patients from eastern China developed severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome and died as a result. By May 30, 2013, the H7N9 infection was confirmed in 132 patients...