Transmission dynamics of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus at the wildlife-poultry-environmental interface: A case study

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Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) regularly circulate between wild and domestic bird populations. Following several high-profile outbreaks, highly pathogenic AIVs (HPAIV) with zoonotic potential have been the subject of increasing attention. While we know that HPAIV is transmitted between domestic birds, wildlife, and the environment, little is known about persistence and spillover/back at these interfaces. We integrated the test results of samples collected on and around an infected domestic poultry premise (IP) where H5N1 HPAIV was confirmed in a flock of poultry in 2022 in Southern Ontario, Canada to explore the transmission cycle of AIVs in wildlife and the environment. We sampled a captive flock of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) that resided on site, sediment samples collected from water bodies on site, and examined samples collected through surveillance within a 100 km radius of the IP from live wild ducks and sick and dead wildlife. We found serologic evidence of H5 exposure in the captive mallards that resided on site despite no evidence of morbidity or mortality in these birds and no PCR positive detections from samples collected at two different timepoints. Genetic material from the same H5N1 HPAIV subtype circulating in the domestic birds and from low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses were detected in wetlands on site. The results of live and sick and dead surveillance conducted within a 100 km radius confirmed that the virus was circulating in wildlife before and after IP confirmation. These results suggest that biosecurity remains the most critical aspect of minimising spillover/back risk in a virus that has been shown to circulate in asymptomatic wild birds and persist in the surrounding environment.