Poland303 19M similar to Sapporo1, NJ01, Almati01 and Changsha78

The National Influenza Center in Warsaw deposited two NA sequences today. The second deposit, A/Poland/303/2009, is exceptional. Poland303 from a 19 year old male sampled on 2009-07-10 varies significantly with the first deposit from a 71 year old female sampled in the same week.  Mixed peaks or dropouts may be involved in each sequence at multiple locations.

Further study is required due to several potential anomalies. However, the preliminary inspection shows that Poland303 is most similar to Sapporo1, NewJersey01, Almati01 and Changsha78. The nucleotide similarity is 99% (>1401 of 1407), but the few dissimilarities are curious.

Poland303 demonstrates 8 NA SNPs and is inconclusive at residues 79, 166 and 216 with additional distinguishable amino acid polymorphisms:

N2I
N200K
G201W
N209T
D392N

The KW at 200:201 appears to be unique within ΣPF11 during our initial enquiries.

Poland282 demonstrates 12 NA SNPs and is inconclusive at 79, 190, 195, 205, 220, 322 and 335 with the following distinguishable polymorphisms:

N2B
V177F
191L synonymous
T192Q
N221H

The variability between these two sequences and secondly among this group and the others in their geography may signal the presence of a genetic acquisition stimulator or, the more likely explanation, a lab contamination.

Outside of a multi-stage lab contamination (unlikely after reviewing the full set of Poland sequences), these two specimens follow a trend indicative of SNP recombinations with Avian H1N1 from Europe AND Swine H3N2 from Europe.  That capitalised word in the previous sentence is an "AND".  Until we find intermediate forms bearing Neuraminidase hybridisations of European swine H3N2, European avian H1N1 and PF11, the estimation presented here is my most logical explanation for a very unlikely set of sequences.

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