Abstract
We investigated avian influenza infections in wild birds, poultry, and humans at Eastern Dongting Lake, China. We analyzed 6,621 environmental samples, including fresh fecal and water samples, from wild birds and domestic ducks that were collected from the Eastern Dongting Lake area from November 2011 to April 2012. We also conducted two cross-sectional serological studies in November 2011 and April 2012, with 1,050 serum samples collected from people exposed to wild birds and/or domestic ducks. Environmental samples were tested for the presence of avian influenza virus (AIV) using quantitative PCR assays and virus isolation techniques. Hemagglutination inhibition assays were used to detect antibodies against AIV H5N1, and microneutralization assays were used to confirm these results. Among the environmental samples from wild birds and domestic ducks, AIV prevalence was 5.19 and 5.32%, respectively. We isolated 39 and 5 AIVs from the fecal samples of wild birds and domestic ducks, respectively. Our analysis indicated 12 subtypes of AIV were present, suggesting that wild birds in the Eastern Dongting Lake area carried a diverse array of AIVs with low pathogenicity. We were unable to detect any antibodies against AIV H5N1 in humans, suggesting that human infection with H5N1 was rare in this region.
Highlights
Human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus infection since the end of 2003 have been reported in 15 Eurasian countries
There was a higher proportion of AIVpositives among the water samples associated with ducks than those with wild birds (x2 = 15.9069, P,0.001); the same trend was not seen with fecal samples (x2 = 1.1357, P = 0.29) (Table 2)
The Dongting Lake wetland serves as a natural seasonal shelter for a large number of migratory birds over winter and spring, it is a suitable area to study avian influenza virus (AIV) transmission among humans, domesticated ducks, and wild birds
Summary
Human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus infection since the end of 2003 have been reported in 15 Eurasian countries. We collected fresh fecal and water samples from duck farms surrounding the Eastern Dongting lake area. Detection of AIVs We collected 6,621 environmental samples from November to April 2012, of which 5,419 were from wild birds and 1,202 from domestic ducks (Table 1 and Figure 1).
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