Development and Assessment of Two Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N6 Candidate Vaccine Viruses for Pandemic Preparedness.

Objective  In China, 24 cases of human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N6 virus have been confirmed since the first confirmed case in 2014. Therefore, we developed and assessed two H5N6 candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs). Methods  In accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, we constructed two reassortant viruses using reverse genetics (RG) technology to match the two different epidemic H5N6 viruses. We performed complete genome sequencing to determine the genetic stability. We assessed the growth ability of the studied viruses in MDCK cells and conducted a hemagglutination inhibition assay to analyze their antigenicity. Pathogenicity attenuation was also evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Results  The results showed that no mutations occurred in hemagglutinin or neuraminidase, and both CVVs retained their original antigenicity. The replication capacity of the two CVVs reached a level similar to that of A/Puerto Rico/8/34 in MDCK cells. The two CVVs showed low pathogenicity in vitro and in vivo, which are in line with the WHO requirements for CVVs. Conclusion  We obtained two genetically stable CVVs of HPAI H5N6 with high growth characteristics, which may aid in our preparedness for a potential H5N6 pandemic.