Abstract
The role of wild birds in the epidemiology of the Asian lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus subtype H5N1 epizootic and their contribution to the spread of the responsible viruses in Eurasia and Africa are unclear. To better understand the potential role of swans and geese in the epidemiology of this virus, we infected 4 species of swans and 2 species of geese with an HPAI virus of Asian lineage recovered from a whooper swan in Mongolia in 2005, A/whooper swan/Mongolia/244/2005 (H5N1). The highest mortality rates were observed in swans, and species-related differences in clinical illness and viral shedding were evident. These results suggest that the potential for HPAI (H5N1) viral shedding and the movement of infected birds may be species-dependent and can help explain observed deaths associated with HPAI (H5N1) infection in anseriforms in Eurasia.
Highlights
The role of wild birds in the epidemiology of the Asian lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus subtype H5N1 epizootic and their contribution to the spread of the responsible viruses in Eurasia and Africa are unclear
The virus has not been detected in clinically healthy wild birds in Europe that were not associated with ongoing bird die-offs [8], and no evidence has clearly shown that the virus is maintained or geographically spread by infected asymptomatic wild birds
The objective of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility and viral shedding patterns in 4 species of swans and 2 species of geese that were experimentally infected with HPAI virus (H5N1) and to predict the ability of each species to spread the virus into new areas
Summary
The role of wild birds in the epidemiology of the Asian lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus subtype H5N1 epizootic and their contribution to the spread of the responsible viruses in Eurasia and Africa are unclear. The first indication of wild bird involvement in the Asian lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus (H5N1) epizootic occurred late in 2002 and 2003, when HPAI (H5N1) was isolated from captive and wild birds in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People’s Republic of China [1] Since these initial outbreaks, HPAI (H5N1) has continued to cause illness and death in a variety of wild birds in Asia [2], and in 2005 the virus was recovered from migratory waterfowl during a wild bird die-off involving primarily bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) at Qinghai Lake, People’s Republic of China [3]. We evaluated the potential ability of a given species to geographically move the virus on the basis of the duration and viral titers associated with asymptomatic shedding
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