Abstract
In January 2021, Senegal reported the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus A(H5N1), which was detected on a poultry farm in Thies, Senegal, and in great white pelicans in the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary. We report evidence of new transcontinental spread of H5N1 from Europe toward Africa.
Highlights
In January 2021, Senegal reported the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus A(H5N1), which was detected on a poultry farm in Thies, Senegal, and in great white pelicans in the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary
750 great white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) (740 juveniles and 10 adults) were found dead by rangers in the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is a wetland near the Senegal–Mauritania border
After identifying H5N1 in the dead birds, LNERV analyzed amino acid sequences deduced at the hemagglutinin cleavage site (PLREKRRKR×GLF) on samples from poultry and pelicans, which classified the strain as an HPAI
Summary
Diop); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Dakar Laboratory and to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Reference Center for Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (Legnaro, Padova, Italy) for confirmatory diagnosis and genetic characterization of the identified viruses. The HPAI H5N1 viruses from Senegal cluster together in the phylogenetic trees of all 8 gene segments and are closely related to HPAI H5N1 viruses identified in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Italy during October–December 2020 (98.8%–100% nucleotide similarity) (Appendix Figures 1–8) These findings suggest virus introduction in the country was likely caused by wild birds’ migration routes from Europe. Because availability of viral sequences from different countries could affect phylogeographic analyses, having a large number of sequences available is vital to obtain accurate and reliable results
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