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Investigating avian influenza infection hotspots in old-world shorebirds.

ABSTRACT: Heterogeneity in the transmission rates of pathogens across hosts or environments may produce disease hotspots, which are defined as specific sites, times or species associations in which the infection rate is consistently elevated. Hotspots for avian influenza virus (AIV) in wild birds are largely unstudied and poorly understood. A striking feature is the existence of a unique but consistent AIV hotspot in shorebirds (Charadriiformes) associated with a single species at a specific location and time (ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres at Delaware Bay, USA, in May). This unique case, though a valuable reference, limits our capacity to explore and understand the general properties of AIV hotspots in shorebirds. Unfortunately, relatively few shorebirds have been sampled outside Delaware Bay and they belong to only a few shorebird families; there also has been a lack of consistent oropharyngeal sampling as a complement to cloacal sampling. In this study we looked for AIV hotspots associated with other shorebird species and/or with some of the larger congregation sites of shorebirds in the old world. We assembled and analysed a regionally extensive dataset of AIV prevalence from 69 shorebird species sampled in 25 countries across Africa and Western Eurasia. Despite this diverse and extensive coverage we did not detect any new shorebird AIV hotspots. Neither large shorebird congregation sites nor the ruddy turnstone were consistently associated with AIV hotspots. We did, however, find a low but widespread circulation of AIV in shorebirds that contrast with the absence of AIV previously reported in shorebirds in Europe. A very high AIV antibody prevalence coupled to a low infection rate was found in both first-year and adult birds of two migratory sandpiper species, suggesting the potential existence of an AIV hotspot along their migratory flyway that is yet to be discovered.

SUBMITTER: Gaidet N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3460932 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundIn China since the first human infection of avian influenza A (H7N9) virus was identified in 2013, it has caused serious public health concerns due to its wide spread and high mortality rate. Evidence shows that bird migration plays an essential role in global spread of avian influenza viruses. Accordingly, in this paper, we aim to identify key bird species and geographical hotspots that are relevant to the transmission of avian influenza A (H7N9) virus in China.MethodsWe first conducted phylogenetic analysis on 626 viral sequences of avian influenza A (H7N9) virus isolated in chicken, which were collected from the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), to reveal geographical spread and molecular evolution of the virus in China. Then, we adopted the cross correlation function (CCF) to explore the relationship between the identified influenza A (H7N9) cases and the spatiotemporal distribution of migratory birds. Here, the spatiotemporal distribution of bird species was generated based on bird observation data collected from China Bird Reports, which consists of 157?272 observation records about 1145 bird species. Finally, we employed a kernel density estimator to identify geographical hotspots of bird habitat/stopover that are relevant to the influenza A (H7N9) infections.ResultsPhylogenetic analysis reveals the evolutionary and geographical patterns of influenza A (H7N9) infections, where cases in the same or nearby municipality/provinces are clustered together with small evolutionary differences. Moreover, three epidemic waves in chicken along the East Asian-Australasian flyway in China are distinguished from the phylogenetic tree. The CCF analysis identifies possible migratory bird species that are relevant to the influenza A(H7N9) infections in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Guangdong in China, where the six municipality/provinces account for 91.2% of the total number of isolated H7N9 cases in chicken in GISAID. Based on the spatial distribution of identified bird species, geographical hotspots are further estimated and illustrated within these typical municipality/provinces.ConclusionsIn this paper, we have identified key bird species and geographical hotspots that are relevant to the spread of influenza A (H7N9) virus. The results and findings could provide sentinel signal and evidence for active surveillance, as well as strategic control of influenza A (H7N9) transmission in China.

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Investigating avian influenza infection hotspots in old-world shorebirds.

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