Spatio‐temporal risk assessment for avian influenza outbreak based on the dynamics of habitat suitability for wild birds

AbstractIntroductionRepeated incursions of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5 subtype of Gs/GD lineage pose a serious threat to poultry worldwide. We provide a detailed analysis of the spatio-temporal spread and genetic characteristics of HPAIV Gs/GD H5N8 from the 2019/20 epidemic in Poland.Material and methodsSamples from poultry and free-living birds were tested by real-time RT-PCR. Whole genome sequences from 24 (out of 35) outbreaks were generated and genetic relatedness was established. The clinical status of birds and possible pathways of spread were analysed based on the information provided by veterinary inspections combined with the results of phylogenetic studies.ResultsBetween 31 December 2019 and 31 March 2020, 35 outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry holdings and 1 case in a wild bird were confirmed in nine provinces of Poland. Most of the outbreaks were detected in meat turkeys and ducks. All characterised viruses were closely related and belonged to a previously unrecognised genotype of HPAIV H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4b. Wild birds and human activity were identified as the major modes of HPAIV spread.ConclusionThe unprecedentedly late introduction of the HPAI virus urges for re-evaluation of current risk assessments. Continuous vigilance, strengthening biosecurity and intensifying surveillance in wild birds are needed to better manage the risk of HPAI occurrence in the future.

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Co-inections of domestic and wild birds with avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses: implications for control and genetic mutations

Veterinary Research Communications ◽

10.1007/s11259-020-09783-y ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 (3-4) ◽

pp. 159-166

Author(s):

Waziri Ibrahim Musa ◽

Lawal Sa’idu ◽

Mohammed Bello ◽

Paul Ayuba Abdu

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

Newcastle Disease ◽

Wild Birds ◽

Genetic Mutations

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First detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Norway

BMC Veterinary Research ◽

10.1186/s12917-021-02928-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Knut Madslien ◽

Torfinn Moldal ◽

Britt Gjerset ◽

Sveinn Gudmundsson ◽

Arne Follestad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

Influenza A ◽

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza ◽

Wild Birds ◽

Zoonotic Potential ◽

Active Monitoring ◽

Main Hypothesis ◽

Highly Pathogenic ◽

Pathogenic Avian Influenza ◽

Poultry Farms

Abstract Background Several outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) caused by influenza A virus of subtype H5N8 have been reported in wild birds and poultry in Europe during autumn 2020. Norway is one of the few countries in Europe that had not previously detected HPAI virus, despite widespread active monitoring of both domestic and wild birds since 2005. Results We report detection of HPAI virus subtype H5N8 in a wild pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus), and several other geese, ducks and a gull, from south-western Norway in November and December 2020. Despite previous reports of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI), this constitutes the first detections of HPAI in Norway. Conclusions The mode of introduction is unclear, but a northward migration of infected geese or gulls from Denmark or the Netherlands during the autumn of 2020 is currently our main hypothesis for the introduction of HPAI to Norway. The presence of HPAI in wild birds constitutes a new, and ongoing, threat to the Norwegian poultry industry, and compliance with the improved biosecurity measures on poultry farms should therefore be ensured. [MK1]Finally, although HPAI of subtype H5N8 has been reported to have very low zoonotic potential, this is a reminder that HPAI with greater zoonotic potential in wild birds may pose a threat in the future. [MK1]Updated with a sentence emphasizing the risk HPAI pose to poultry farms, both in the Abstract and in the Conclusion-section in main text, as suggested by Reviewer 1 (#7).

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Landscape effects and spatial patterns of avian influenza virus in Danish wild birds, 2006‐2020

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases ◽

10.1111/tbed.14040 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lene Jung Kjær ◽

Charlotte Kristiane Hjulsager ◽

Lars Erik Larsen ◽

Anette Ella Boklund ◽

Tariq Halasa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Influenza Virus ◽

Avian Influenza ◽

Avian Influenza Virus ◽

Spatial Patterns ◽

Wild Birds ◽

Landscape Effects

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Genetic Characteristics of Avian Influenza Virus Isolated from Wild Birds in South Korea, 2019–2020

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13030381 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 381

Author(s):

Eun-Jee Na ◽

Young-Sik Kim ◽

Sook-Young Lee ◽

Yoon-Ji Kim ◽

Jun-Soo Park ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

South Korea ◽

Basic Amino Acid ◽

Histopathological Change ◽

Amino Acid Sequences ◽

Wild Birds ◽

Influenza Viruses ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Active Monitoring ◽

Genetic Characteristics

Wild aquatic birds, a natural reservoir of avian influenza viruses (AIVs), transmit AIVs to poultry farms, causing huge economic losses. Therefore, the prevalence and genetic characteristics of AIVs isolated from wild birds in South Korea from October 2019 to March 2020 were investigated and analyzed. Fresh avian fecal samples (3256) were collected by active monitoring of 11 wild bird habitats. Twenty-eight AIVs were isolated. Seven HA and eight NA subtypes were identified. All AIV hosts were Anseriformes species. The HA cleavage site of 20 representative AIVs was encoded by non-multi-basic amino acid sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of the eight segment genes of the AIVs showed that most genes clustered within the Eurasian lineage. However, the HA gene of H10 viruses and NS gene of four viruses clustered within the American lineage, indicating intercontinental reassortment of AIVs. Representative viruses likely to infect mammals were selected and evaluated for pathogenicity in mice. JB21-58 (H5N3), JB42-93 (H9N2), and JB32-81 (H11N2) were isolated from the lungs, but JB31-69 (H11N9) was not isolated from the lungs until the end of the experiment at 14 dpi. None of infected mice showed clinical sign and histopathological change in the lung. In addition, viral antigens were not detected in lungs of all mice at 14 dpi. These data suggest that LPAIVs derived from wild birds are unlikely to be transmitted to mammals. However, because LPAIVs can reportedly infect mammals, including humans, continuous surveillance and monitoring of AIVs are necessary, despite their low pathogenicity.

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Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses at the Wild–Domestic Bird Interface in Europe: Future Directions for Research and Surveillance

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13020212 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 212

Author(s):

Josanne H. Verhagen ◽

Ron A. M. Fouchier ◽

Nicola Lewis

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza ◽

Wild Birds ◽

Influenza Viruses ◽

Highly Pathogenic ◽

Future Directions ◽

Pathogenic Avian Influenza ◽

Domestic Bird ◽

Hpai H5n1 ◽

Host Identification

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in wild birds and poultry are no longer a rare phenomenon in Europe. In the past 15 years, HPAI outbreaks—in particular those caused by H5 viruses derived from the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage that emerged in southeast Asia in 1996—have been occuring with increasing frequency in Europe. Between 2005 and 2020, at least ten HPAI H5 incursions were identified in Europe resulting in mass mortalities among poultry and wild birds. Until 2009, the HPAI H5 virus outbreaks in Europe were caused by HPAI H5N1 clade 2.2 viruses, while from 2014 onwards HPAI H5 clade 2.3.4.4 viruses dominated outbreaks, with abundant genetic reassortments yielding subtypes H5N1, H5N2, H5N3, H5N4, H5N5, H5N6 and H5N8. The majority of HPAI H5 virus detections in wild and domestic birds within Europe coincide with southwest/westward fall migration and large local waterbird aggregations during wintering. In this review we provide an overview of HPAI H5 virus epidemiology, ecology and evolution at the interface between poultry and wild birds based on 15 years of avian influenza virus surveillance in Europe, and assess future directions for HPAI virus research and surveillance, including the integration of whole genome sequencing, host identification and avian ecology into risk-based surveillance and analyses.

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Genetic and biological characterization of avian influenza H5N1 viruses isolated from wild birds and poultry in Western Siberia

Archives of Virology ◽

10.1007/s00705-010-0676-2 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 155 (7) ◽

pp. 1145-1150 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Kirill Sharshov ◽

Alesia Romanovskaya ◽

Roman Uzhachenko ◽

Alexander Durymanov ◽

Anna Zaykovskaya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

Western Siberia ◽

Wild Birds ◽

Biological Characterization ◽

Avian Influenza H5n1 ◽

Influenza H5n1

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Antibody responses to avian influenza viruses in wild birds broaden with age

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2016.2159 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 283 (1845) ◽

pp. 20162159 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Sarah C. Hill ◽

Ruth J. Manvell ◽

Bodo Schulenburg ◽

Wendy Shell ◽

Paul S. Wikramaratna ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

Haemagglutination Inhibition ◽

Wild Birds ◽

Influenza Viruses ◽

Antibody Responses ◽

Immune Recognition ◽

Avian Influenza Viruses ◽

Highly Pathogenic ◽

Age Related ◽

Pathogenic H5n1

For viruses such as avian influenza, immunity within a host population can drive the emergence of new strains by selecting for viruses with novel antigens that avoid immune recognition. The accumulation of acquired immunity with age is hypothesized to affect how influenza viruses emerge and spread in species of different lifespans. Despite its importance for understanding the behaviour of avian influenza viruses, little is known about age-related accumulation of immunity in the virus's primary reservoir, wild birds. To address this, we studied the age structure of immune responses to avian influenza virus in a wild swan population ( Cygnus olor ), before and after the population experienced an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in 2008. We performed haemagglutination inhibition assays on sampled sera for five avian influenza strains and show that breadth of response accumulates with age. The observed age-related distribution of antibody responses to avian influenza strains may explain the age-dependent mortality observed during the highly pathogenic H5N1 outbreak. Age structures and species lifespan are probably important determinants of viral epidemiology and virulence in birds.

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