Conference Theme: Translating Health Research into Policy and Practice for Health of the PopulationPoster Presentations - Emerging / Infectious Diseases: no. P132-Ab0100BACKGROUND: Influenza infection begins with the attachment of the viral haemagglutinin (HA) to the surface receptor of a cell. This binding involves a glycan called sialic acid (Sia). Previous studies have suggested that the affinity of influenza viruses isolated from different species depends on the linkage between this Sia and the adjacent sugar (usually galactose). In general, human and swine viruses prefer Sia with an α2-6 linkage while avian viruses prefer an α2-3 linkage. Though there are commercially available therapies that block influenza virus release, there has been limited information on controlling influenza virus infection by …published_or_final_versio
