Spatial genetic structure of 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza established as a result of interaction with human populations in mainland China

Keywords: Influenza A, Medical Geography, Landscape Genetics, Pandemic
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 03:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 05:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 31

Abstract

Identifying the spatial patterns of genetic structure of influenza A viruses is a key factor for understanding their spread and evolutionary dynamics. In this study, we analyzed genetic sequences of the A/H1N1pdm09 virus with district-level locations in mainland China that were sampled during the first year of the 2009 pandemic using phylogenetic and Bayesian cluster analyses to investigate the spatial genetic structure of the A/H1N1pdm09 virus across the population landscapes of mainland China. The positive correlation between geographic and genetic distances indicates high degrees of genetic similarity of the viruses within the small geographic regions and broad-scale genetic differentiation, implying that local viral circulation was a predominant driver in the formation of the spatial genetic structure of the A/H1N1pdm09 virus than countrywide viral mixing and gene flow. Geographic heterogeneity in the distribution of genetic subpopulations of A/H1N1pdm09 virus in mainland China exhibits spatial patterns of viral migration at both global and local scales, illustrating broad-range geographic patterns of viral dissemination from East to Southwest China as well as local to local transmission across mainland China, presumably driven by the mass population movements during the flu season. Our study provides implications for understanding the evolution and spread of A/H1N1pdm09 virus across population landscape of mainland China, which can inform disease control strategies for future pandemics.