The origin of the deadly H7N9 strain of the flu virus was traced by scientists from an international research team.
The H7N9 strain of the flu virus, which killed more than 375 people since 2013, was tracked with gnome sequencing, according to a news release.
The researchers, from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and China Agricultural University, studied thousands of viral sequences when they were looking back on the history of the H7N9 virus.
The virus stems back to one other virus - H9N2. The H9N2 virus is believed to be the mixing vessel where other flu viruses from migratory birds and domestic ducks, swapped genes.
The H7N9 virus has six genes from the H9N2 virus, making it clear to researchers that the virus being studied likely originated during the gene swap.
"Sequencing the viral genome allowed us to track how H9N2 evolved across time and geography to contribute to the H7N9 virus that emerged as a threat to human health in 2013," said Robert Webster, a member of the St. Jude Department of Infectious Diseases, in the news release. "The insights gained from this collaboration suggest that tracking genetic diversity of H9N2 on poultry farms could provide an early warning of emerging viruses with the potential to spark a pandemic."
The study will be published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
