225E Trend Continues in Spain Through October 2009

The Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain continued a strong professional showing this evening by depositing 41 sequences at GenBank covering the month of October 2009, including 14 HA and NA segments.  The Spanish officials and medical community must be highly commended for continuing to provide research data of the highest calibre and timeliness during this early stage of the pandemic. 

The velocity of change at amino acid residue 225 in the Receptor Binding Domain from October in Spain parallels our report from yesterday on August and September.  These samples are contemporary, dating from 2009-10-05 to several in the third week of October (up to 2009-10-22).  6 of 14 specimens (43%) demonstrate 225E paired with 206T.  As of this accumulation, Spain shows 37 instances of 225E with no 206S and 3 instances of 225G with 206T. 

Additional unique faces also enter  ΣPF11 with the Hospital Clinic's October sequences.  26 total polymorphisms within the antigens, HA and NA, spread across 13 amino acid positions generates branching on the Spanish tree in directions that may be suggestive of critical human fitness paths occurring throughout the world. 

Of particular interest is the potential cluster:

• A/Catalonia/S1515, HA, NA, MP, sampled on 2009-10-13, 14F
• A/Catalonia/S1554, HA, NA, MP, sampled on 2009-10-20, 1F

The CatS1515 and CatS1554 are identical on the HA and MP segments. The HA segments carry the very odd 377K most recently found in Avian H8N4. But the NA segments don't match and they vary in an unusual pattern. The earlier case carries a novel introduction to the pandemic on the NA at T483C coding for a synonymous 161C. The SNP from the earlier case, CatS1515, either did not transmit to the later case or did transmit and then was recombined back to wild type from a dual infection in the 1 year old host, CatS1554.

Clinical information would be very useful in this matter.  We are compelled by this Spanish cluster because a very striking HA homology has been circulating in North America since early August.  The H8N4 strains may have donated 377K to the H5N1 along the flightpath with a surveillance lag not yet chronicling the event.

HA Amino Acid Codings to 3 Novel Polymorphisms and 8 Rare Signals

•    35I
•   71G
•   88L
•   89N
•  100N
•  142T
•  225E
•  298V
•  373H
•  504N

35I
CatS1533, CatS1547.
Rare to ΣPF11.
Found in 10 other sequences including recent TamiFlu-Resistant US sequence, A/Texas/47.
Progenitors may include:
H5N1 Avian
H5N1 Human

71G
CatS1478, CatS1587.
CatS1436 and NY80 are the lone ΣPF11 peers.

88L
CatS1533.
Novel to ΣPF11.

89N
CatS1589.
Novel to ΣPF11.

100N
CatS1589.
Rare to ΣPF11.
Found in A/Sao Paulo/55312 and Argentina7953 from the INEI/CII Influenza Virus Sequencing Site.
Progenitors may include:
H1N1 Swine 2009
H1N2 Swine

142T
CatS1574.
CatS1411 is the singular ΣPF11 peer.

225E
CatS1478, CatS1479, CatS1490, CatS1545, CatS1587, CatS1592.
Presently velocitised within recent ΣPF11.

298V
CatS1478, CatS1479, CatS1587.
Unique to Catalonia within ΣPF11.
CatNS2001, CatNS2008, CatS1237, CatS1248, CatS1286, CatS1369, CatS1436.

373H
CatS1525, CatS1589.
Unique to Catalonia within ΣPF11.
CatS1285, CatS1353.

377K
CatS1515, CatS1554.
Novel to ΣPF11.
Progenitors may include:
H8N4 Avian
H6N1 Avian

504N
CatS1525, CatS1589.
A/Gifu-C/67 is the singular ΣPF11 peer.
Progenitors may include:
H1N1 Avian
H1N2 Swine

Neuraminidase Triple Combination
106I, 248D, 286S
All October sequences.

The Neuraminidase displays strong homology with exception in only three sequences.

NA Amino Acid Codings to 2 Novel Polymorphisms

•  161C (synonymous T483C)
•  442I

syn161C
CatS1515.
Identical in HA and MP segments to CatS1554.
Novel to ΣPF11.
Progenitors unknown, but adjacent residue 162 is highly active in:
H5N1 Human
H5N1 Avian
H1N1 Human
H1N1 Avian
H3N2 Human

442I
CatS1525, CatS1589.
Novel to ΣPF11.
Progenitors may include:
H5N1 Human
H5N1 Avian
H1N1 Swine
WSN33

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