Short communicationSequence analysis of haemagglutinin and neuraminidase of H1N1 strain from a patient coinfected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

- No recent H1N1pdm09 sequences are available from Saudi Arabia.
- The viral HA is related to the 6B clade with two amino acid substitution in the Sa antigenic site.
- The viral NA showed unique amino acid substitution without an evidence of oseltamivir-resistance based on sequence analysis.

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic (H1N1pdm09) was associated with a considerable influenza-related morbidity and mortality. Among the complications, Mycobacterial tuberculosis was recorded as a coinfection with influenza in rare cases. The full-length sequences of the viral haemagglutinin and neuraminidase of H1N1pdm09 influenza A virus were analyzed from a recently infected patient. The patient was chronically infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Molecular modelling and in-silico docking of the virus, and other selected strains with the drug oseltamivir were conducted and compared. Sequence analysis of the viral haemagglutinin revealed it to be closely related to the 6B.1 clade, with high identity to the circulating H1N1pdm09 strains, and confirmed that the virus still harbouring high affinity to the α-2,6-sialic acid human receptor. The viral neuraminidase showed high identity to the neuraminidase of the recently circulating strains of the virus with no evidence of the development of oseltamivir-resistant mutants. Regular monitoring of the circulating strains is recommended to screen for a possible emergence of drug-resistant strains.