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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Exotic & Emerging Avian Viral Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #336342
Research Project: Intervention Strategies to Prevent and Control Disease Outbreaks Caused by Emerging Strains of Avian Influenza Viruses

Location: Exotic & Emerging Avian Viral Diseases Research

Title: Reoccurrence of H5Nx clade 2.3.4.4 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in wild birds during 2016

Author
item LEE, DONG-HUH - Orise Fellow
item TORCHETTI, MIA - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item KILLIAN, MARY - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item DELIBERTO, THOMAS - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item SHARSHOV, KIRILL - Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "research Institute Of Experimental And Clinical Med
item SHESTOPALOV, ALEXANDER - Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "research Institute Of Experimental And Clinical Med
item KWON, JUNG-HOON - Konkuk University
item SONG, CHANG-SEON - Konkuk University
item Swayne, David

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2017
Publication Date: 7/21/2017
Citation: Lee, D., Torchetti, M., Killian, M., Deliberto, T., Sharshov, K., Shestopalov, A., Kwon, J., Song, C., Swayne, D.E. 2017. Reoccurrence of H5Nx clade 2.3.4.4 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in wild birds during 2016. The American Association of Avian Pathologists Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana, July 21-25, 2017. 2017 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Asian-origin H5N1 A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 (Gs/GD) lineage of high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) has become widespread across four continents, affecting poultry, wild birds and humans. H5N1 HPAIV has evolved into multiple hemagglutinin (HA) genetic clades and reassorting with different neuraminidase and internal genes to generate H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4 Gs/GD HPAIV which has circulated in East Asia since 2013. Migratory birds have been implicated in the spread of H5N1 HPAIV among Asian countries and to Europe, but due to an apparently effective geographic barrier (the Bering and Chukchi seas of the north Pacific Ocean), the Gs/GD lineage HA gene had not been identified in North American avian influenza viruses until late 2014. Four distinct groups of clade 2.3.4.4 have been identified: intercontinental A (icA, Buan-like), B (Gochang-like), C, and D viruses. Group icA comprises H5N8 and its reassortant viruses identified from East Asia, Canada, the United States, and European countries between 2013 and 2015. Group B comprises H5N8 viruses identified from China and South Korea between 2013 and 2014. Group C comprises H5N1 and H5N6 viruses identified from China and Southeast Asia. Group D comprises H5N6 viruses identified from China and Vietnam including an isolate from a human in China. In this study, we report the detection of Group icA H5N2 in Alaska, Group B H5N8 HPAIV in western Siberia, and Group C H5N6 in South Korea obtained from wild birds sampled during active surveillance efforts in 2016. Widespread detection of clade 2.3.4.4 HPAIV in healthy wild birds and subclinical infection with high viral shedding among mallard ducks experimentally infected with clade 2.3.4.4 HPAIV support the theory of long-term maintenance and evolution of HPAIV in wild birds. Since these areas comprises several important migration routes of wild waterfowl that traverse long distances, the detection of HPAIV in wild birds here is of concern for continued maintenance and dissemination of clade 2.3.4.4 HPAIV potential again to North America.