Reassortment of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza as a Driver for Zoonotic Spillover, Asia.

Authors

Alexander M P Byrne, Lorcan Carnegie, Nicola S Lewis, Ian G Barr, Erik A Karlsson, Michelle Wille

Published in

Emerging infectious diseases. Volume 32. Issue 10. Sep 16, 2026. Epub Sep 16, 2026.

Abstract

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5Nx viruses remain a major zoonotic threat, yet global attention has focused largely on clade 2.3.4.4b, potentially overlooking major changes within long-endemic H5N1 lineages in Asia. Recent reports from South and Southeast Asia describe the emergence of reassortant clade 2.3.2.1 viruses alongside renewed human infections after apparent prolonged epidemiologic stability. Collectively, those events suggest a regional pattern rather than isolated anomalies. In this article, we argue that reassortment, rather than point mutation alone, might be an underrecognized driver of zoonotic risk in endemic H5N1 lineages and is reshaping those lineages. We examine why such events might be underrecognized in settings with entrenched poultry influenza, identify limitations of current surveillance systems, and call for integrated, real-time approaches linking genomic detection with phenotypic assessment across animal and human health sectors to enable timely risk assessment and coordinated public health action.

PMID:
42749686
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 17 Sep 2026.

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