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Updated: May 17, 2026

A Miniaturized Glycan Microarray Assay for Assessing Avidity and Specificity of Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinins
Published on: May 29, 2016
On the origin of influenza A hemagglutinin
1MRC Virology Unit, Institute of Virology, University of Glasgow, Church Street, Glasgow, G11 5JR UK.
Abstract:
Recent advances in phylogenetic methods have produced some reassessments of the ages of the most recent common ancestor of hemagglutinin proteins in known strains of influenza A. This paper applies Bayesian phylogenetic analysis implemented in BEAST to date the nodes on the influenza A hemagglutinin tree. The most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of influenza A hemagglutinin proteins is located with 95% confidence between 517 and 1497 of the Common Era (AD), with the center of the probability distribution at 1056 AD. The implications of this revised dating for both historical and current epidemiology are discussed. Influenza A can be seen as an emerging disease of mediaeval and early modern times.
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