Ecological factors contributing to persistence of multiple highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses circulating among the poultry farms in Taiwan during 2015-17

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Ecological factors contributing to persistence of multiple highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses circulating among the poultry farms in Taiwan during 2015-17 Day-Yu Chao1, 2* 1 National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan 2 Institute of Microbiology and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan Emergence and intercontinental spread of unprecedented, highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI) H5Nx virus clade 2.3.4.4 resulted in major economic losses in the poultry industry in Asia, Europe and North America. Being on the flyway of migrating birds, Taiwan experienced epidemics caused by four different subtypes of HPAI virus clade 2.3.4.4 between 2015 and 2017. Based on both mandatory and active surveillance, H5N3 and H5N6 were only detected during 2015 and 2017, respectively, while H5N2 and H5N8 have been persistently detected among poultry farms for three consecutive years since their first arrival in 2015. Combining satellite imaging, this investigation sought to assess the importance of various ecological factors that may have contributed to each HPAI subtype hotspots over three consecutive years. Four risk factors consistently showed strong association with the spatial clustering identified by H5N2 and H5N8 during 2015 and 2017, including high poultry farm density, poultry heterogeneity index, non-registered waterfowl flock density and higher percentage of cropping land coverage. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using satellite technology to identify domestic waterfowl flocks. Our study highlights the importance of specific environmental factors in facilitating the persistence of specific subtypes of HPAI H5Nx in certain locations. Acknowledgements The authors would like to express their deepest appreciation to the work team from Animal Health Inspection Division, BAPHIQ for the efforts in actively identifying outbreaks. The work is funded by BAPHIQ. We are also thankful of Dr. T.S. Chen, from the Endemic Species Research Institute (ESRI), COA, kindly providing the wetland database. References Chang, C., C. King, C. Wan, Y. Chang, T. Chan, D. C. Lee, P. Chou, Z. Li, Y. Li, T. Tseng, P. Lee and C. Chang, 2016: Lessons from the Largest Epidemic of Avian Influenza Viruses in Taiwan, 2015. Avian Dis, 60, 156-171. Claes, F., S. Morzaria and R. Donis, 2016: Emergence and dissemination of clade 2.3.4.4 H5Nx influenza viruses-how is the Asian HPAI H5 lineage maintained. Curr Opin Virol, 16. Ford, T., R. Colwell, J. Rose, S. Morse, D. Rogers and T. Yates, 2009: Using satellite images of environmental changes to predict infectious disease outbreaks. Emerg Infect Dis, 15, 1341-1346. Hulse-Post, D., K. Sturm-Ramirez, J. Humberd, P. Seiler, E. Govorkova, S. Krauss, C. Scholtissek, P. Puthavathana, C. Buranathai, T. Nguyen, H. Long, T. Naipospos, H. Chen, T. Ellis, Y. Guan, J. Peiris and R. Webster, 2005: Role of domestic ducks in the propagation and biological evolution of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses in Asia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 102, 10682-10687. Keywords: Highly pathogenic avian influenza, hot spot, Spatial Analysis, Risk map, remote sensing Conference: GeoVet 2019. Novel spatio-temporal approaches in the era of Big Data, Davis, United States, 8 Oct - 10 Oct, 2019. Presentation Type: Regular oral presentation Topic: Spatio-temporal surveillance and modeling approaches Citation: Chao D (2019). Ecological factors contributing to persistence of multiple highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses circulating among the poultry farms in Taiwan during 2015-17. Front. Vet. Sci. Conference Abstract: GeoVet 2019. Novel spatio-temporal approaches in the era of Big Data. doi: 10.3389/conf.fvets.2019.05.00033 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 16 Jun 2019; Published Online: 27 Sep 2019. * Correspondence: Prof. Day-Yu Chao, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, dychao@nchu.edu.tw Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. 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