Potential Catalyst for Pandemic 2.0 Emerges in Italy during July

During the Summer of 2009, an unsuspecting twelve year old boy in Veneto, Italy may have become the host of an influenza strain that is now setting the Pandemic 2.0 stage.

The Northern Italian region of Veneto has a population nearing 5 million and hosts 60 million tourists each year with many passing through the canals of the capital, Venice.  The Laguna Veneta is the largest wetland in the Mediterrean (340mi² / 550km²) and the delta serves a wide range of migratory bird species. 

The University of Padova lab deposited 24 Neuraminidase (N1) sequences today from Italy sampled during July 2009 (Pandemic 1.5) bringing the total number of Italian NA segments on file to 26.  Antigenic diversity is observed in the Italian sequences, several with novel introductions, but the point variations are not our primary interest in this very important deposit. 

One sequence from the Padova lab signals the first recorded instance of a key transition for this pandemic.  The NA Triple Combination may mark an axis or inflection point for PF11.  A/Italy/134, from a student (12M) in Veneto, demonstrates a match to Seasonal Influenza in a permutation of 3 key markers that we have anticipated as a potential catalyst to Pandemic 2.0. 

A Balkan emergence had generated the highest probability in our research with the Italian peninsula and bounding northern states ranking as "Very Probable".  Few sequences have been made available to evaluate the Balkan states during this pandemic, so we cannot determine if the recombinations occurred in that area as well as in Italy.  Emergence was expected within a 250 mile radius (400km) of a significant body of water, particularly the Adriatic Sea, the Black Sea or the western boundary of the Caspian Sea.  Of course, we may be searching for our keys under the streetlamp.  So little surveillance is surfaced at this point that rough estimates are the maximum any lab may produce.

In Italy134, this coalescing set of 3 human-fit markers, predicted by our research in mid-May, emerged during the summer, recombined as expected onto the swine N1 background.  As you may observe from the positional study, this sequence may have required two or more in situ polymorphisms from consensus within this geography to gain these genetics.  In the estimation of our research team, random mutation is a less than stellar explanation.  Human-fit Seasonal Influenza and ΣPF11 now have much more in common as ΣPF11 moves into tighter conformation potentially gaining trait enhancements.

Neuraminidase Triple Combination
106I, 248N, 286G : Italy134
106I, 248N, 286G : Seasonal Influenza 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
106I, 248N, 286G : H5N1 (Avian, Human), H1N1 (Avian, Swine)
106I, 248N, 286G : 1918 Brevig Mission

This July sequence lays additional groundwork for attractant donations from candidates in previously observed donor serotypes. 

Few Italian points of comparison are available prior to this large NA deposit.  Of the two, NA Italy05 is unremarkable for this study and NA Italy127 is quite remarkable due to temporal and geographic proximity, as you will see in the Italian permutation discussion.  We also note that the Hemagglutinin segments so prolifically available from Italy demonstrate exceptional variance (20 major polymorphisms from 34 Sequences). These Hemagglutinin amino acid revisions include, but are not limited to, 137T, 199N, 200T, 219T, 225E (4), 244I, 261G (2), 277E, 296H (4) and 300S (2).  NA variance is correlated with HA variance in ΣPF11. 

Antigenic Diversity, even within the sparse 26 Italian NA sequences is observable if only upon reviewing the four permutations of the Neuraminidase Triple Combination.

106I, 248N, 286G : Italy134 from Veneto, sampled 2009-07
106I, 248N, 286S  : Italy127 from Veneto, sampled 2009-06-17, 256L (H3N2, H5N1 Avian)
106I, 248D, 286S  : 23 Sequences, including Italy05 from May 2009
106V, 248N, 286S : Italy149

Italy134 is most similar at the protein (468/469) and nucleotide (1407/1410) levels to two different groups of sequences: the NA 286G bearing group from Canada (5 of 6 Sequences) and the Asian group (with Louisiana03) carrying the rare PF11 dual combination of 106I and 248N (20 sequences).  The Russian Almati01 and Ekaterinburg01 round out the set with the 106I/248N pairing, but vary at an additional amino acid from Italy134.  Only 24 sequences at GenBank carry the PF11 amino acid homology between 106I and 248N.

Until PF11_Ω is achieved, Influenza Flux will continue to vary the virulence and transmute the transmissibility at individual geographies. Future scrutiny of the NA permutations discussed here is merited.  Bear in mind that the current reservoir, even with this instance of tighter human coupling, remains hobbled by transitional genetics.  Fitness determination of this Seasonal NA Triple Combination on the swine N1 background of PF11 remains to be determined at such time as sequences are surfaced.

Please visit GeneWurx.com for insight into the latest published studies.