Evidence of the Presence of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Viruses in Wild Waterfowl in 2018 in South Africa
Avian influenza viruses are pathogens of global concern to both animal and human health. Wild birds are the natural reservoir of avian influenza viruses and facilitate virus transport over large distances. Surprisingly, limited research has been performed to determine avian influenza host species an...
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doaj-b6abbc6d81f84d119f5767f183248abf2020-11-25T02:27:40ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172019-09-018416310.3390/pathogens8040163pathogens8040163Evidence of the Presence of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Viruses in Wild Waterfowl in 2018 in South AfricaMarjolein J. Poen0Ron A. M. Fouchier1Richard J. Webby2Robert G. Webster3Mohamed E. El Zowalaty4Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Dr. Molewaterplein 50, 3015GE Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Dr. Molewaterplein 50, 3015GE Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDivision of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, USADivision of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, USADivision of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, USAAvian influenza viruses are pathogens of global concern to both animal and human health. Wild birds are the natural reservoir of avian influenza viruses and facilitate virus transport over large distances. Surprisingly, limited research has been performed to determine avian influenza host species and virus dynamics in wild birds on the African continent, including South Africa. This study described the first wild bird surveillance efforts for influenza A viruses in KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa after the 2017/2018 outbreak with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N8 in poultry. A total of 550 swab samples from 278 migratory waterfowl were tested using real-time RT-PCR methods. Two samples (0.7%) were positive for avian influenza virus based on the matrix gene real-time RT-PCR but were negative for the hemagglutinin subtypes H5 and H7. Unfortunately, no sequence information or viable virus could be retrieved from the samples. This study shows that avian influenza viruses are present in the South African wild bird population, emphasizing the need for more extensive surveillance studies to determine the South African avian influenza gene pool and relevant local host species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/8/4/163avian influenzaepidemiologyinfluenza a virusmigratory waterfowlreal-time rt-pcrsouth africasurveillancewild birdszoonosis |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Marjolein J. Poen Ron A. M. Fouchier Richard J. Webby Robert G. Webster Mohamed E. El Zowalaty |
spellingShingle |
Marjolein J. Poen Ron A. M. Fouchier Richard J. Webby Robert G. Webster Mohamed E. El Zowalaty Evidence of the Presence of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Viruses in Wild Waterfowl in 2018 in South Africa Pathogens avian influenza epidemiology influenza a virus migratory waterfowl real-time rt-pcr south africa surveillance wild birds zoonosis |
author_facet |
Marjolein J. Poen Ron A. M. Fouchier Richard J. Webby Robert G. Webster Mohamed E. El Zowalaty |
author_sort |
Marjolein J. Poen |
title |
Evidence of the Presence of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Viruses in Wild Waterfowl in 2018 in South Africa |
title_short |
Evidence of the Presence of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Viruses in Wild Waterfowl in 2018 in South Africa |
title_full |
Evidence of the Presence of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Viruses in Wild Waterfowl in 2018 in South Africa |
title_fullStr |
Evidence of the Presence of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Viruses in Wild Waterfowl in 2018 in South Africa |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence of the Presence of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Viruses in Wild Waterfowl in 2018 in South Africa |
title_sort |
evidence of the presence of low pathogenic avian influenza a viruses in wild waterfowl in 2018 in south africa |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Pathogens |
issn |
2076-0817 |
publishDate |
2019-09-01 |
description |
Avian influenza viruses are pathogens of global concern to both animal and human health. Wild birds are the natural reservoir of avian influenza viruses and facilitate virus transport over large distances. Surprisingly, limited research has been performed to determine avian influenza host species and virus dynamics in wild birds on the African continent, including South Africa. This study described the first wild bird surveillance efforts for influenza A viruses in KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa after the 2017/2018 outbreak with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N8 in poultry. A total of 550 swab samples from 278 migratory waterfowl were tested using real-time RT-PCR methods. Two samples (0.7%) were positive for avian influenza virus based on the matrix gene real-time RT-PCR but were negative for the hemagglutinin subtypes H5 and H7. Unfortunately, no sequence information or viable virus could be retrieved from the samples. This study shows that avian influenza viruses are present in the South African wild bird population, emphasizing the need for more extensive surveillance studies to determine the South African avian influenza gene pool and relevant local host species. |
topic |
avian influenza epidemiology influenza a virus migratory waterfowl real-time rt-pcr south africa surveillance wild birds zoonosis |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/8/4/163 |
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