Viral population diversity in vaccinated poultry host infected with H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus

摘要

Purpose: Vaccination is a strategic tool to control avian influenza virus infection in poultry. Improper or inadequate vaccines and vaccination schemes might favour the antigenic drift, a strategy used by influenza viruses to escape the immune system. An extensive and in-depth knowledge of the mechanisms regulating the intra-host viral evolution is of utmost importance to guarantee the application of adequate vaccine protection strategies against new emerging viruses. In this study we used a deep sequencing approach to preliminary characterize the heterogeneity and evolution of viral population in vaccinated and infected poultry under the effect of two vaccines (A and B) conferring different protection levels.