Complete Genome Sequence of the First H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus Isolated from Chickens in Lebanon in 2016

Elias Ibrahim; Abeer Sirawan; Bassel El-Bazzal; Jeanne El Hage; Mounir Abi Said; Hassan Zaraket; Ahmed Kandeil; Mohamed A Ali; Ghazi Kayali

doi:10.1128/genomeA.01062-16

Complete Genome Sequence of the First H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus Isolated from Chickens in Lebanon in 2016

Genome Announc. 2016 Oct 20;4(5):e01062-16. doi: 10.1128/genomeA.01062-16.

Authors

Elias Ibrahim¹, Abeer Sirawan¹, Bassel El-Bazzal¹, Jeanne El Hage², Mounir Abi Said³, Hassan Zaraket⁴, Ahmed Kandeil⁵, Mohamed A Ali⁵, Ghazi Kayali^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Ministry of Agriculture, Beirut, Lebanon.
² Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute, Animal Health Laboratory, Fanar, Lebanon.
³ Lebanese University, El Fanar, Lebanon.
⁴ American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁵ Center of Scientific Excellence for Influenza Viruses, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, Texas, USA ghazi@human-link.org.
⁷ Human Link, Hazmieh, Lebanon.

Abstract

We generated the full genome of a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus that caused an outbreak on a chicken farm in Lebnaon in April 2016. Analysis revealed that the virus belonged to clade 2.3.2.1c that recently caused outbreaks in West Africa and the United Arab Emirates.