Description of Collaborative Activity: |
The goal of this project is to identify zoonotic influenza A viruses (IAV) that are capable of transmitting from swine to humans, causing illness and potentially igniting a global pandemic. IAVs are collected from pigs attending US agricultural fairs and genome sequenced, either in real-time using nanopore sequencing technology or later at a CEIRS network lab. Viruses collected from humans that appear to be of swine origin are also sequenced and compared to the swine viruses. Phylogenetic analysis is performed to understand how viruses from agricultural fairs in different US states are genetically related and how the virus moves between events. Serological studies are performed in youth exhibitors attending the fair to determine exposure histories. |
