Prof. CHEN Hualan from Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy Agricultural Sciences(CAAS) paid a visit to IHB on April 17, 2014.

Prof. CHEN Hualan from Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy Agricultural Sciences(CAAS) paid a visit to Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IHB) on April 17, 2014. Prof. Chen delivered a lecture entitled "The cognition, prevention and control of avian influenza” during her visit. 

In the report, Prof. Chen introduced her team’s researches on H5N1, H7N9 and the technology regarding the control and prevention of avian influenza. She concluded that avian H5N1 subtype viruses do have the potential to acquire mammalian transmissibility by reassortment in current agricultural scenarios.  

H7N9 viruses isolated from birds and humans were genetically closely related and bound to human airway receptors, some also maintained the ability to bind to avian airway receptors. H7N9 viruses isolated from birds were nonpathogenic in chickens, ducks, and mice. However, the viruses isolated from humans caused up to 30% body weight loss in mice. Most importantly, one virus isolated from humans was highly transmissible in ferrets by respiratory droplet.  

Based on the above conclusions, Prof. Chen predicted that H7N9 cannot disappear like SARS and that H7N9 may well be highly pathogenic to aves, and so Prof. Chen adviced nothing to reduce the concern that these viruses can transmit between humans.  

Furthermore, Prof. Chen and her team successfully developed a series of avian influenza vaccines and diagnostic reagents, including the development and application of the reverse genetics inactivated avian influenza vaccine, and the recombinant and application of the recombinant Newcastle disease virus vectored avian influenza live vaccine.  

Prof. Chen has been devoted to the fundamental research and studies on applied technology of avian influenza from 1994. She has published more than 50 scientific papers in PNAS, PloS Pathogens, Journal of Virology, Science as well as other international journals, which have been collectively cited more than 1500 times. For her outstanding achievement on the development of avian influenza vaccines, Prof. Chen has been granted 7 national patents, as well as 12 certificates for novel veterinarian drugs. And in 2013, she was selected as “Ten people who mattered this year” by Nature magazine.