Comparative pathogenicity and environmental transmission of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses

Strategies to control spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses by wild birds appear limited, hence timely characterization of novel viruses is important to mitigate the risk for the poultry sector and human health. In this study we characterize three recent H5-clade 2.3.4.4 viruses...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nancy Beerens, Evelien A. Germeraad, Sandra Venema, Eline Verheij, Sylvia B.E. Pritz-Verschuren, Jose L. Gonzales
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021-01-01
Series:Emerging Microbes and Infections
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2020.1868274
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850032229274615808
author Nancy Beerens
Evelien A. Germeraad
Sandra Venema
Eline Verheij
Sylvia B.E. Pritz-Verschuren
Jose L. Gonzales
author_facet Nancy Beerens
Evelien A. Germeraad
Sandra Venema
Eline Verheij
Sylvia B.E. Pritz-Verschuren
Jose L. Gonzales
author_sort Nancy Beerens
collection DOAJ
description Strategies to control spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses by wild birds appear limited, hence timely characterization of novel viruses is important to mitigate the risk for the poultry sector and human health. In this study we characterize three recent H5-clade 2.3.4.4 viruses, the H5N8-2014 group A virus and the H5N8-2016 and H5N6-2017 group B viruses. The pathogenicity of the three viruses for chickens, Pekin ducks and Eurasian wigeons was compared. The three viruses were highly pathogenic for chickens, but the two H5N8 viruses caused no to mild clinical symptoms in both duck species. The highest pathogenicity for duck species was observed for the most recent H5N6-2017 virus. For both duck species, virus shedding from the cloaca was higher after infection with group B viruses compared to the H5N8-2014 group A virus. Higher cloacal virus shedding of wild ducks may increase transmission between wild birds and poultry. Environmental transmission of H5N8-2016 virus to chickens was studied, which showed that chickens are efficiently infected by (fecal) contaminated water. These results suggest that pathogenicity of HPAI H5 viruses and virus shedding for ducks is evolving, which may have implications for the risk of introduction of these viruses into the poultry sector.
format Article
id doaj-art-8dda3999b7cd46cdbccd0401f998f407
institution DOAJ
issn 2222-1751
language English
publishDate 2021-01-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Emerging Microbes and Infections
spelling doaj-art-8dda3999b7cd46cdbccd0401f998f4072025-08-20T02:58:43ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEmerging Microbes and Infections2222-17512021-01-011019710810.1080/22221751.2020.1868274Comparative pathogenicity and environmental transmission of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 virusesNancy Beerens0Evelien A. Germeraad1Sandra Venema2Eline Verheij3Sylvia B.E. Pritz-Verschuren4Jose L. Gonzales5Wageningen University and Research – Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The NetherlandsWageningen University and Research – Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The NetherlandsWageningen University and Research – Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The NetherlandsWageningen University and Research – Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The NetherlandsWageningen University and Research – Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The NetherlandsWageningen University and Research – Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The NetherlandsStrategies to control spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses by wild birds appear limited, hence timely characterization of novel viruses is important to mitigate the risk for the poultry sector and human health. In this study we characterize three recent H5-clade 2.3.4.4 viruses, the H5N8-2014 group A virus and the H5N8-2016 and H5N6-2017 group B viruses. The pathogenicity of the three viruses for chickens, Pekin ducks and Eurasian wigeons was compared. The three viruses were highly pathogenic for chickens, but the two H5N8 viruses caused no to mild clinical symptoms in both duck species. The highest pathogenicity for duck species was observed for the most recent H5N6-2017 virus. For both duck species, virus shedding from the cloaca was higher after infection with group B viruses compared to the H5N8-2014 group A virus. Higher cloacal virus shedding of wild ducks may increase transmission between wild birds and poultry. Environmental transmission of H5N8-2016 virus to chickens was studied, which showed that chickens are efficiently infected by (fecal) contaminated water. These results suggest that pathogenicity of HPAI H5 viruses and virus shedding for ducks is evolving, which may have implications for the risk of introduction of these viruses into the poultry sector.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2020.1868274Highly pathogenic avian influenzaH5N8H5N6pathogenicityvirus sheddingducks
spellingShingle Nancy Beerens
Evelien A. Germeraad
Sandra Venema
Eline Verheij
Sylvia B.E. Pritz-Verschuren
Jose L. Gonzales
Comparative pathogenicity and environmental transmission of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses
Emerging Microbes and Infections
Highly pathogenic avian influenza
H5N8
H5N6
pathogenicity
virus shedding
ducks
title Comparative pathogenicity and environmental transmission of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses
title_full Comparative pathogenicity and environmental transmission of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses
title_fullStr Comparative pathogenicity and environmental transmission of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses
title_full_unstemmed Comparative pathogenicity and environmental transmission of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses
title_short Comparative pathogenicity and environmental transmission of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses
title_sort comparative pathogenicity and environmental transmission of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza h5 viruses
topic Highly pathogenic avian influenza
H5N8
H5N6
pathogenicity
virus shedding
ducks
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2020.1868274
work_keys_str_mv AT nancybeerens comparativepathogenicityandenvironmentaltransmissionofrecenthighlypathogenicavianinfluenzah5viruses
AT evelienagermeraad comparativepathogenicityandenvironmentaltransmissionofrecenthighlypathogenicavianinfluenzah5viruses
AT sandravenema comparativepathogenicityandenvironmentaltransmissionofrecenthighlypathogenicavianinfluenzah5viruses
AT elineverheij comparativepathogenicityandenvironmentaltransmissionofrecenthighlypathogenicavianinfluenzah5viruses
AT sylviabepritzverschuren comparativepathogenicityandenvironmentaltransmissionofrecenthighlypathogenicavianinfluenzah5viruses
AT joselgonzales comparativepathogenicityandenvironmentaltransmissionofrecenthighlypathogenicavianinfluenzah5viruses