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Host switch events of influenza A viruses (IAVs) continuously pose a zoonotic threat to humans. In 2013, swine-origin H1N1 IAVs emerged in dogs soon after they were detected in swine in the Guangxi province of China. This host switch was followed by multiple reassortment events between these H1N1 and previously circulating H3N2 canine IAVs (IAVs-C) in dogs. To evaluate the phenotype of these newly identified viruses, we characterized three swine-origin H1N1 IAVs-C and one reassortant H1N1 IAV-C. We found that H1N1 IAVs-C predominantly bound to human-type receptors, efficiently transmitted via direct contact in guinea pigs and replicated in human lung cells. Moreover, the swine-origin H1N1 IAVs-C were lethal in mice and were transmissible by respiratory droplets in guinea pigs. Importantly, sporadic human infections with these viruses have been detected, and preexisting immunity in humans might not be sufficient to prevent infections with these new viruses. Our results show the potential of H1N1 IAVs-C to infect and transmit in humans, suggesting that these viruses should be closely monitored in the future.

The recent human outbreak of H7N9 avian influenza A virus has caused worldwide concerns. Receptor binding specificity is critical for viral pathogenicity, and still not thoroughly studied for this emerging virus. Here, we evaluated the receptor specificity of the haemagglutinin (HA) of two human H7N9 isolates (A/Shanghai/1/13 and A/Anhui/1/13) through a solid-phase binding assay and a flow cytometry-based assay. In addition, we compared it with those from several HAs from human and avian influenza viruses. We observed that the HAs from the novel H7 isolates strongly interacted with α2,3-linked sialic acids. Importantly, they also showed low levels of binding to α2,6-linked sialic acids, but significantly higher than other avian H7s.