Influenza A Virus Infection in Domestic Ferrets

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Vol. 75; no. 3; pp. 325 - 327
• Main Authors: Kuroda, Yudai, Okada, Ai, Shimoda, Hiroshi, Miwa, Yasutsugu, Watamori, Akiko, Ishida, Hiroho, Murakami, Shin, Takada, Ayato, Horimoto, Taisuke, Maeda, Ken
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Editorial Committee 31.05.2022; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Antibodies; Disease transmission; Domestic animals; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Exo-a-sialidase; ferret; Hemagglutinins; Influenza; Influenza A; Mustela; Neutralization; Respiratory diseases; reverse zoonosis; seroprevalence; Viruses; influenza; reverse zoonosis; seroprevalence; ferret
• ISSN: 1344-6304; 1884-2836; 1884-2836
• DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2021.745

Ferrets are animals that are known to be susceptible to influenza A virus (IAV) infection. To evaluate the risk of IAV transmission from diseased ferrets to humans, a survey was performed to detect specific antibodies against the H1, H3, H5, and H7 subtypes of IAV. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for hemagglutinin proteins, we found a high positive rate for the H1 (24.1%) and H3 (5.2%) subtypes. The results were confirmed by a virus neutralization test for representative antibody-positive serum samples. We also detected hemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes in two ferrets showing acute respiratory disease and whose owner was diagnosed with IAV infection; a human H1N1pdm virus was isolated from one of these ferrets. Our findings suggest that attention should be paid to IAV infection from humans to ferrets and vice versa.