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Title: Cyclic avian mass mortality in the northeastern United States is associated with a novel Orthomyxovirus

Author
item ALLISON, ANDREW - Cornell University
item BALLARD, JENNIFER - University Of Georgia
item TESH, ROBERT - University Of Texas Medical Branch
item BROWN, JUSTIN - Pennsylvania Game Commission, Bureau Of Wildlife Management
item Ruder, Mark
item KEEL, M - University Of Georgia
item MUNK, BRANDON - University Of Georgia
item MICKLEY, RANDALL - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item GIBBS, SAMANTHA - Us Fish And Wildlife Service
item TRAVASSOS DA ROSA, AMELIA - University Of Texas Medical Branch
item ELLIS, JULIA - Tufts University
item IP, HON - National Wildlife Health Center
item SHERN-BOCHSLER, VALERIE - National Wildlife Health Center
item ROGERS, MATTHEW - University Of Pittsburgh
item GHEDIN, ELODIE - University Of Pittsburgh
item HOLMES, EDWARD - University Of Sydney
item PARRISH, COLIN - Cornell University
item DWYER, CHRIS - Us Fish And Wildlife Service

Submitted to: Journal of Virology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/7/2014
Publication Date: 11/12/2014
Citation: Allison, A.B., Ballard, J.R., Tesh, R.B., Brown, J.D., Ruder, M.G., Keel, M.K., Munk, B.A., Mickley, R.M., Gibbs, S.E., Travassos Da Rosa, A.P., Ellis, J.C., Ip, H.S., Shern-Bochsler, V., Rogers, M.B., Ghedin, E., Holmes, E.C., Parrish, C.R., Dwyer, C. 2014. Cyclic avian mass mortality in the northeastern United States is associated with a novel Orthomyxovirus. Journal of Virology. 89(2):1389-1403. DOI: 10.1128/JVI.02019-14

Interpretive Summary: Common eiders (Somateria mollissima) are sea ducks that inhabit large portions of the northern latitudes of North America, Europe, and the Russian Far East. In North America, the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts serves as a major overwintering ground for common eiders and from 1998-2013, at least 12 mortality events have been documented. During these cyclic epidemics, hundreds to thousands of sick and dead common eiders have been documented along the coast. While previous investigations of these outbreaks had uncovered potential contributing factors, detecting the cause of the outbreaks had proven difficult. However, this report identifies a novel virus, tentatively named Wellfleet Bay virus (WFBV), as the potential causative agent for the outbreaks. Genetic analysis of the virus suggests it is a member of the Quaranjavirus genus of the family Orthomyxoviridae and is closely related to Cygnet River virus recently isolated from waterfowl in South Australia. Although the route of transmission of WFBV is not known, the virus genome encodes a particular protein that suggests it is tick-transmitted in nature, consistent with other members of Quaranjavirus. It is not known whether WFBV is an opportunistic or primary pathogen of common eiders and while the identification of WFBV in part may resolve the enigma of these mass mortality events, the details of the ecology and epidemiology of the virus remain to be determined.

Technical Abstract: Since 1998, cyclic mortality events in common eiders (Somateria mollissima), numbering in the hundreds to thousands of dead birds, have been documented along the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. Although longitudinal disease investigations have uncovered potential contributing factors responsible for these outbreaks, detecting a primary etiological agent has proven enigmatic. Here we identify a novel orthomyxovirus, tentatively named Wellfleet Bay virus (WFBV), as a potential causative agent of these outbreaks. Genomic analysis of WFBV revealed that it is most Closely related to members of the Quaranjavirus genus within the family Orthomyxoviridae. Similar to other members of the genus, WFBV contains an alphabaculovirus gp64-like glycoprotein, which was demonstrated to have fusion activity, and also tentatively suggests that ticks (and/or insects) may vector the virus in nature. However, in addition to the six RNA segments encoding the prototypical structural genes identified in other quaranjaviruses, a previously unknown RNA segment (segment 7) encoding a novel protein designated as VP7 was discovered in WFBV. Although WFBV shows low to moderate levels of sequence similarity to Quaranfil virus and Johnston Atoll virus, the original members of the Quaranjavirus genus, additional antigenic and genetic analyses demonstrated that it is closely related to the recently identified Cygnet River virus (CyRV) from South Australia, suggesting that WFBV and CyRV may be geographic variants of the same virus. Although the identification of WFBV in part may resolve the enigma of these mass mortality events, the details of the ecology and epidemiology of the virus remain to be determined.