ARS | Publication request: Virulent Newcastle disease viruses isolated from cormorant and gull species in the states of the Atlantic Flyway in 2010

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 15, 2011
Publication Date: May 15, 2011
Citation: Miller, P.J., Wolf, P.C., Mickley, R.M., Mustante, A.R., Emanueli, D.C., Shively, K.J., Afonso, C.L. 2011. Virulent Newcastle disease viruses isolated from cormorant and gull species in the states of the Atlantic Flyway in 2010 [abstract]. 1st International Avian Respiratory Disease Conference, May 15-18, 2011, Athens, Georgia. p. 54.

Technical Abstract: Newcastle disease viruses (NDV) have been the causative agent for die-offs of juvenile double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the northern border-states focused around the Great Lakes of the U.S. in years past. However, the most recent die-off has included not only great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) from New Hampshire, but also herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus) from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, located within 60 miles of the Delmarva Poultry Industry. While there are previous reports of positive sera from gull species, virus isolation has not been reported. Isolates of NDV from Minnesota, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maryland continue to follow the newer branching of cormorant isolates that originated around 2005 which result in negative results when tested with the traditional fusion reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay in spite of the virulent fusion cleavage site. A phylogenetic comparison of a 374 base-pair region of the fusion gene confirms this new trend. This situation highlights the importance of biosecurity, especially in areas with high concentrations of wild birds and poultry species.