Emergence of a Reassortant 2.3.4.4b Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus Containing H9N2 PA Gene in Burkina Faso, West Africa, in 2021

Since 2006, the poultry population in Burkina Faso has been seriously hit by different waves of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 epizootics. In December 2021, three distinct regions of Burkina Faso, namely, Gomboussougou, Bonyollo, and Koubri, detected HPAI H5N1 viruses in poultry. Whole genome characterization and statistical phylogenetic approaches were applied to shed light on the potential origin of these viruses and estimate the time of virus emergence. Our results revealed that the HPAI H5N1 viruses reported in the three affected regions of Burkina Faso cluster together within clade 2.3.4.4b, and are closely related to HPAI H5N1 viruses identified in Nigeria and Niger in the period 2021-2022, except for the PA gene, which clusters with H9N2 viruses of the zoonotic G1 lineage collected in West Africa between 2017 and 2020. These reassortant viruses possess several mutations that may be associated with an increased zoonotic potential. Although it is difficult to ascertain where and when the reassortment event occurred, the emergence of a H5N1/H9N2 reassortant virus in a vulnerable region, such as West Africa, raises concerns about its possible impact on animal and human health. These findings also highlight the risk that West Africa may become a new hotspot for the emergence of new genotypes of HPAI viruses.