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Genetic characterization of a novel group of H3N2 canine influenza viruses isolated from Guangdong Province in southern China in 2018
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  • Jiajun Ou,
  • Gang Lu,
  • Kun Jia,
  • Shoujun Li
Jiajun Ou

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Gang Lu
South China Agr Univ
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Kun Jia
South China Agricultural University
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Shoujun Li
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Abstract

Canine influenza virus (CIV) is an emerging pathogen that can infect canines, causing a series of respiratory symptoms. H3N2 CIV emerged in dogs in China and Korea in approximately 2005 but was first reported in 2007. In 2015, H3N2 CIV was detected in the USA, where it caused a large outbreak. For continuous monitoring of H3N2 CIV in China, a total of 180 dog nasal swabs were collected from veterinary hospitals in southern China between 2017 and 2018 and tested for CIV RNA. Three H3N2 CIV strains were isolated. Following genome sequencing, sequences of the isolates were found to be divergent from the sequences of reported Chinese H3N2 CIV strains. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that these viruses are clustered in a novel group and genetically close to strains from the USA. Several unique aa substitutions in HA and NA were observed in the H3N2 CIV strains isolated in this study. These findings reveal unique evolutionary characteristics of recently identified H3N2 CIV strains in China.