Avian metapneumovirus subtype C in Wild Waterfowl in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) is an emerging poultry pathogen that has a significant economic impact on poultry production worldwide. The geographic range of the virus continues to expand, and wild birds have been implicated as reservoirs of aMPV that have the potential to spread the virus over long distances. Our objective was to determine the apparent prevalence of aMPV subtype C in wild waterfowl in Ontario, Canada. Wild waterfowl were captured in August and September, 2016 as part of routine migratory waterfowl population monitoring by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs were collected from each bird and placed together for aMPV testing using real-time RT-PCR. A total of 374 live wild birds from 23 lakes were sampled and tested for aMPV. Among all ducks tested, 84 (22%) were positive for aMPV. The proportion of samples that tested positive ranged from 0% in ring-necked ducks (Aythya collaris) and green-winged teal (Anas carolinensis) to 44% (8 of 18) in American black ducks (A. rubripes). Waterfowl positive for aMPV were found at 14 of 23 lakes in the study area and the percent positive at these 14 lakes ranged between 5% and 84%. Although subtype C aMPV has been detected in a variety of wild birds in North America, this is the first report of aMPV in wild ducks in Ontario, Canada. The high apparent prevalence, particularly in mallards and American black ducks (37 and 44%, respectively), suggests that these species may be important reservoirs of aMPV. Given the potential impact of aMPV on domestic poultry and the potential role of wild birds as reservoirs of the virus, further investigation of the geographic distribution, risk factors associated with aMPV carriage in wild waterfowl and potential role of other birds in the epidemiology of aMPV in Canada is warranted.

Detection of avian metapneumovirus subtype A from wild birds in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

“…Our study detected aMPV subtype A in samples from Anseriformes, Columbiformes, Falconiformes and Psittaciformes, which is in acordance with a previous study (Felippe et al 2011). Moreover, most positive samples were obtained from wild waterfowl which also in agreement with a recent study (Jardine et al 2018) and previous studies (Shin et al 2000, Bennett et al 2002, Felippe et al 2011, Turpin et al 2008.…”

New Insight Into Avian Papillomavirus Ecology and Evolution From Characterization of Novel Wild Bird Papillomaviruses

“…Although the diversity and distribution of several specific viruses within birds have been investigated to varying degrees (Rappole et al, 2000; Olsen et al, 2006; Chamings et al, 2018; Jardine et al, 2018), our knowledge about overall viral diversity in the avian reservoir is still very limited, which is highlighted by the continuously increasing number of viruses discovered in these hosts (Chan et al, 2015; Bodewes, 2018). Among these, PVs are particularly interesting since only eight different viral types have been described so far in seven bird species, but there are likely many more to be discovered.…”

Discovery and Characterization of Novel RNA Viruses in Aquatic North American Wild Birds

“…AMPV has a worldwide distribution, except for Australia where it has never been documented [17], but the various subgroups are distributed differently. For example, subtype C has a global distribution, but only two subtypes have ever been found in North America, AMPV-C and the newly identified and yet unclassified subtype [15,18]. AMPV RNA has been identified in various wild birds, such as ducks, geese, gulls, starlings, and others [15,18,19,20,21,22].…”