Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 288, Issue 5468, Pages 1051-1053Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.288.5468.1051
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- NICHD NIH HHS [HD 15527] Funding Source: Medline
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Influenza B virus is a human pathogen whose origin and possible reservoir in nature are not known. An influenza B virus was isolated from a naturally infected harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) and was found to be infectious to seal kidney cells in vitro. Sequence analyses and serology indicated that influenza virus B/Seal/Netherlands/1/99 is closely related to strains that circulated in humans 4 to 5 years earlier. Retrospective analyses of sera collected from 971 seals showed a prevalence of antibodies to influenza B virus in 2% of the animals after 1995 and in none before 1995. This animal reservoir, harboring influenza B viruses that have circulated in the past, may pose a direct threat to humans.
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