Abstract
BackgroundSince the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza caused thousands of deaths of wild bird in this area in 2005, Qinghai Lake in China has become a hot spot for study of the influence of avian influenza to migratory wild birds. However, the ecology and evolution of low pathogenic avian influenza virus in this region are limited. This project-based avian influenza surveillance in Qinghai lake region was initiated in year 2012.MethodSamples of wild bird feces and lake surface water were collected in Qinghai Lake in year 2012.Virus isolation was conducted on embryonated chicken eggs. The influenza A virus was determined by rRT-PCR. Virus sequences were acquired by deep sequencing. The phylogenetic correlation and molecular characteristics of the viruses were analyzed. The virus growth and infection features, receptor binding preference were studied, and pathogenicity in vitro as well as.ResultsTwo H13N8 subtype influenza viruses were isolated. The viruses are phylogenetically belong to Eurasian lineage. Most of the genes are associated with gull origin influenza virus except PB1 gene, which is most probably derived from Anseriformes virus. The evidence of interspecies reassortment was presented. The two viruses have limited growth capacity on MDCK and A549 cells while grow well in embryonated eggs. The dual receptor binding features of the two viruses was shown up. The low pathogenic features were determined by trypsin dependence plaque formation assay.ConclusionsThe two H13N8 subtype influenza viruses are highly associated with gull origin. The interspecies reassortment of H13 subtype virus among Anseriforme sand Charadriiformes wild birds emphasizes the importance of strengthening avian influenza surveillance in this region. This study is helpful to understand the ecology, evolution and transmission pattern of H13 subtype influenza virus globally.
Highlights
Since the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza caused thousands of deaths of wild bird in this area in 2005, Qinghai Lake in China has become a hot spot for study of the influence of avian influenza to migratory wild birds
Most of the genes are associated with gull origin influenza virus except PB1 gene, which is most probably derived from Anseriformes virus
The interspecies reassortment of H13 subtype virus among Anseriforme sand Charadriiformes wild birds emphasizes the importance of strengthening avian influenza surveillance in this region
Summary
Since the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza caused thousands of deaths of wild bird in this area in 2005, Qinghai Lake in China has become a hot spot for study of the influence of avian influenza to migratory wild birds. The ecology and evolution of low pathogenic avian influenza virus in this region are limited This project-based avian influenza surveillance in Qinghai lake region was initiated in year 2012. Wild water birds usually can be classified as Anseriformes and Charadriiformes, which are represented by duck and gull respectively They are the natural reservoirs for all avian influenza subtypes. An outbreak caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 resulted in more than 10,000 deaths of migratory birds in Qinghai Lake in year 2005 [6, 7]. The virus was spread to Mongolia, Russian, Europe, and Africa along the migratory flyways in the following years of 2005–09 [8, 9] This event is a typical example of the global transmission of avian influenza viruses. Qinghai Lake has become an animal and human public health concern due to its geographic location, which is major breeding site for migratory birds flying to Australia, India, Siberia and Southeast Asia via the Central AsianIndian flyway and the East Asian-Australian flyway
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