Risk of influenza virus infection to non-respiratory tissue sites v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Risk of influenza virus infection to non-respiratory tissue sites
IRAS ID
347952
Contact name
Claire Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCL - GOS Institute of Child Health
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Our project aims to understand the risk of the bird flu virus (HPAI H5N1) spreading from recent outbreaks in cattle and other mammals in the USA to humans. This outbreak has caused significant problems for the cattle industry and rural communities. With support from the MRC and DEFRA under the FluTrailMap One Health consortium, our goal is to better understand these viruses and how they spread, to prevent future outbreaks.To assess the risk of HPAI H5N1 infection in humans, we will compare how this virus affects human cells to how the pH1N1 2009 flu virus did. This will help us understand the potential for human transmission.
Bird flu viruses can infect not only the lungs but also other tissues, like the eyes and mouth. Since May 2024, five human cases of HPAI H5N1 have been reported, mostly causing eye infections. We aim to find out which cells can be infected by this virus. We might also analyze these cells to understand their response to the virus at the gene level.
We have permission to use lung tissues from the Living Airway Biobank (REC ref 24/NW/0168) and will extend this to include eye and mouth tissues. We will obtain eye and mouth tissue samples from biobanks when available. If they are not available, collaborators from pathology/diagnostic labs in London, Sheffield, or NHSBT will provide left-over samples where consent was in place for future research use, along with anonymised data on age, sex, ethnicity, and test resultsto ensure the samples are from otherwise healthy individuals.
We will:
*Identify which cells in the eye, mouth, and lungs can be infected by HPAI H5N1.
*Compare how HPAI H5N1 affects human cells to how the pH1N1 2009 virus did.
*Investigate how human cells respond to HPAI H5N1 infection.REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EE/0198
Date of REC Opinion
21 Aug 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion