The present invention relates to murine monoclonal antibodies C, F and H which target major neutralizing epitopes of influenza H5 hemagglutinin of clade 2.3 and active fragments thereof. The present invention also relates to methods and compositions for the prophylaxis and treatment of H5N1 influenza using murine monoclonal antibodies C, F or H or active fragments thereof. The present invention additionally relates to methods and compositions for providing universal protection against H5 influenza viruses using murine monoclonal antibodies C, F or H or fragments thereof together with complementary murine monoclonal antibody or active fragments thereof. The present invention further relates to methods and compositions for the characterization and quantification of H5 expression using these murine monoclonal antibody or fragments thereof.
