Infection and tissue distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza A type H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) in red fox kits (Vulpes vulpes)

Avian influenza H5N1 is a highly pathogenic virus that primarily affects birds. However, it can also infect other animal species, including mammals. We report the infection of nine juvenile red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A type H5N1 (Clade 2.3.4.4b) in the spring of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Brittany D. Cronk, Leonardo Cardia Caserta, Melissa Laverack, Rhea S. Gerdes, Kevin Hynes, Cynthia R. Hopf, Melissa A. Fadden, Shotaro Nakagun, Krysten L. Schuler, Elizabeth L. Buckles, Manigandan Lejeune, Diego G. Diel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2023-12-01
Series:Emerging Microbes and Infections
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2023.2249554
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849422277330862080
author Brittany D. Cronk
Leonardo Cardia Caserta
Melissa Laverack
Rhea S. Gerdes
Kevin Hynes
Cynthia R. Hopf
Melissa A. Fadden
Shotaro Nakagun
Krysten L. Schuler
Elizabeth L. Buckles
Manigandan Lejeune
Diego G. Diel
author_facet Brittany D. Cronk
Leonardo Cardia Caserta
Melissa Laverack
Rhea S. Gerdes
Kevin Hynes
Cynthia R. Hopf
Melissa A. Fadden
Shotaro Nakagun
Krysten L. Schuler
Elizabeth L. Buckles
Manigandan Lejeune
Diego G. Diel
author_sort Brittany D. Cronk
collection DOAJ
description Avian influenza H5N1 is a highly pathogenic virus that primarily affects birds. However, it can also infect other animal species, including mammals. We report the infection of nine juvenile red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A type H5N1 (Clade 2.3.4.4b) in the spring of 2022 in the central, western, and northern regions of New York, USA. The foxes displayed neurologic signs, and examination of brain and lung tissue revealed lesions, with brain lesions ranging from moderate to severe meningoencephalitis. Analysis of tissue tropism using RT-PCR methods showed a comparatively lower Ct value in the brain, which was confirmed by in situ hybridization targeting Influenza A RNA. The viral RNA labelling was highly clustered and overlapped the brain lesions, observed in neurons, and grey matter. Whole viral genome sequences obtained from the affected foxes were subjected to phylogenetic and mutation analysis to determine influenza A clade, host specificity, and potential occurrence of viral reassortment. Infections in red foxes likely occurred due to preying on infected wild birds and are unlikely due to transmission between foxes or other mammals.
format Article
id doaj-art-a0d240a36b524d5ea7067c6b73bca886
institution Kabale University
issn 2222-1751
language English
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Emerging Microbes and Infections
spelling doaj-art-a0d240a36b524d5ea7067c6b73bca8862025-08-20T03:31:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEmerging Microbes and Infections2222-17512023-12-0112210.1080/22221751.2023.2249554Infection and tissue distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza A type H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) in red fox kits (Vulpes vulpes)Brittany D. Cronk0Leonardo Cardia Caserta1Melissa Laverack2Rhea S. Gerdes3Kevin Hynes4Cynthia R. Hopf5Melissa A. Fadden6Shotaro Nakagun7Krysten L. Schuler8Elizabeth L. Buckles9Manigandan Lejeune10Diego G. Diel11Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USADepartment of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USADepartment of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USADepartment of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USANew York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Wildlife Health Program, Albany, NY, USADepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USADepartment of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USADepartment of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USADepartment of Public and Ecosystem Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USADepartment of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USADepartment of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USADepartment of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USAAvian influenza H5N1 is a highly pathogenic virus that primarily affects birds. However, it can also infect other animal species, including mammals. We report the infection of nine juvenile red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A type H5N1 (Clade 2.3.4.4b) in the spring of 2022 in the central, western, and northern regions of New York, USA. The foxes displayed neurologic signs, and examination of brain and lung tissue revealed lesions, with brain lesions ranging from moderate to severe meningoencephalitis. Analysis of tissue tropism using RT-PCR methods showed a comparatively lower Ct value in the brain, which was confirmed by in situ hybridization targeting Influenza A RNA. The viral RNA labelling was highly clustered and overlapped the brain lesions, observed in neurons, and grey matter. Whole viral genome sequences obtained from the affected foxes were subjected to phylogenetic and mutation analysis to determine influenza A clade, host specificity, and potential occurrence of viral reassortment. Infections in red foxes likely occurred due to preying on infected wild birds and are unlikely due to transmission between foxes or other mammals.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2023.2249554InfluenzaVulpes vulpesred foxwhole genome sequencinghighly pathogenic avian influenza Atissue tropism
spellingShingle Brittany D. Cronk
Leonardo Cardia Caserta
Melissa Laverack
Rhea S. Gerdes
Kevin Hynes
Cynthia R. Hopf
Melissa A. Fadden
Shotaro Nakagun
Krysten L. Schuler
Elizabeth L. Buckles
Manigandan Lejeune
Diego G. Diel
Infection and tissue distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza A type H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) in red fox kits (Vulpes vulpes)
Emerging Microbes and Infections
Influenza
Vulpes vulpes
red fox
whole genome sequencing
highly pathogenic avian influenza A
tissue tropism
title Infection and tissue distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza A type H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) in red fox kits (Vulpes vulpes)
title_full Infection and tissue distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza A type H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) in red fox kits (Vulpes vulpes)
title_fullStr Infection and tissue distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza A type H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) in red fox kits (Vulpes vulpes)
title_full_unstemmed Infection and tissue distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza A type H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) in red fox kits (Vulpes vulpes)
title_short Infection and tissue distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza A type H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) in red fox kits (Vulpes vulpes)
title_sort infection and tissue distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza a type h5n1 clade 2 3 4 4b in red fox kits vulpes vulpes
topic Influenza
Vulpes vulpes
red fox
whole genome sequencing
highly pathogenic avian influenza A
tissue tropism
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2023.2249554
work_keys_str_mv AT brittanydcronk infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT leonardocardiacaserta infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT melissalaverack infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT rheasgerdes infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT kevinhynes infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT cynthiarhopf infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT melissaafadden infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT shotaronakagun infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT krystenlschuler infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT elizabethlbuckles infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT manigandanlejeune infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes
AT diegogdiel infectionandtissuedistributionofhighlypathogenicavianinfluenzaatypeh5n1clade2344binredfoxkitsvulpesvulpes