ARS | Publication request: PHYLOGENETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF ENDEMIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE VIRUSES ISOLATED FROM WILD BIRDS DURING 2000 TO 2004 IN DELAWARE, MARYLAND AND NEW JERSEY

Submitted to: American Association of Avian Pathologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 31, 2006
Publication Date: July 14, 2006
Citation: Afonso, C.L. 2006. Phylogenetic characterization of endemic Newcastle disease viruses isolated from wild birds during 2000 to 2004 in Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey [abstract]. American Association of Avian Pathologists 2006 Meeting, Hawaii. p. 154.

Technical Abstract: Virulent strains of avian paramyxovirus type-1 (APMV-1), the etiologic agent of Newcastle disease (ND), are a significant threat to the United States poultry industry. The discovery of lentogenic APMV-1 viruses that differ from U.S. ND vaccine strains in live bird markets in the U.S. is cause for concern because it suggests epidemiological connections between viruses found in wild birds and poultry and because there is documented evidence that some low virulence viruses can mutate and become pathogenic for poultry. We have studied the phylogenetic relationship of Newcastle Disease Viruses (NDV) isolated from migratory waterfowl and shore birds during 2000-2004 in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Sequencing of the fusion and nucleoprotein genes of NDV reveals that viruses correspond to lentogenic lineages 1 and 6. Our data suggests that more than one lineage (and sub-lineages) circulate simultaneously in the same geographic area, and that viruses from the same lineage have the capacity to infect multiple wild bird species. Viruses from both lineages are closely related to those recently identified in Europe, the Far East, and the Southern Hemisphere, and viruses of lineage 6 are related to lentogenic viruses found in bird markets in the US. Overall, our data suggests phylogenetic relatedness between European and Eastern US wildlife NDV viruses, and an epidemiologic link between these viruses and those found in live bird markets.