Experimental Infection of Common Eider Ducklings with Wellfleet Bay Virus, a Newly Characterized Orthomyxovirus

Abstract

Wellfleet Bay virus (WFBV), a novel orthomyxovirus in the genus Quaranjavirus, was first isolated in 2006 from carcasses of common eider (Somateria mollissima) during a mortality event in Wellfleet Bay (Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA) and has since been repeatedly isolated during recurrent mortality events in this location. Hepatic, pancreatic, splenic, and intestinal necrosis was observed in dead eiders. We inoculated 6-week-old common eider ducklings with WFBV in an attempt to recreate the naturally occurring disease. Approximately 25% of inoculated eiders had onset of clinical disease and required euthanasia; an additional 18.75% were adversely affected based on net weight loss during the trial. Control ducklings did not become infected and did not have clinical disease. Infected ducklings with clinical disease had pathologic lesions consistent with those observed during natural mortality events. WFBV was reisolated from 37.5% of the inoculated ducklings. Ducklings surviving to 5 days postinoculation developed serum antibody titers to WFBV.

Sexual Transmission of Arboviruses: A Systematic Review

“…There is no experimental evidence to suggest that any arboviruses in these genera could be sexually transmitted between vertebrates. In one study, Wellfleet Bay virus was not recovered from the gonads of experimentally infected birds [141].…”

Impact of nanopore-based metagenome sequencing on tick-borne virus detection

“…They have been historically documented in argasid ticks and their vertebrate hosts, primarily avian species. Some quaranjaviruses are associated with avian mortality and demonstrate pathogenicity under experimental conditions (Allison et al, 2015 ; Shearn-Bochsler et al, 2017 ; Mourya et al, 2019 ). Documentation of various quaranjaviruses in several hard tick species in the genera Amblyomma, Haemaphysalis, Ixodes , and Rhipicephalus including this study suggest that unrecognized tick-borne infections may be occurring (Cholleti et al, 2018 ; Sameroff et al, 2021 ; Bratuleanu et al, 2022 ; Kobayashi et al, 2022 ).…”

Impact of anthropogenous environmental factors on the marine ecosystem of trophically transmitted helminths and hosting seabirds: Focus on North Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic and the Arctic seas

“…storms, calm), viral and bacterial infections, oil spills, poisoning with shellfish toxins as a consequence of algal blooms, and starvation, are regarded as the main causes of mass mortality events among seabird populations ( Clairbaux et al ., 2021 ; Camphuysen et al ., 1999 ; Starr et al ., 2017 ; Anker-Nilssen et al . ; 2002; Shearn-Bochsler et al ., 2017 ; Descamps et al ., 2012 ; Thieltges et al ., 2006b ). Northern fulmars, seaducks, kittiwakes, common guillemots, razorbills ( Alca torda ), Atlantic puffins and little auks ( Alle alle ), are most frequently affected by mass mortality events in the North-Atlantic and adjacent seas ( Camphuysen et al ., 1999 ).…”

“…Increase of ambient temperature and related changes in salinity and pH seem to have also direct impacts on the development of the larval stages of some trematode species. However, recent studies have lead to diverging results: from an increase of cercarial output from snails, as their primary hosts, with decreased survival time (Poulin, 2006;Selbach & Poulin, 2020) to a decrease in cercarial activity (Koprivnikar et al, 2010) and emergence (Morley & Lewis, 2013). These inconsistent findings may be caused by species-specific adaptation of the parasite, seasonal and circadian influences and competition between parasites in the primary host (Morley & Lewis, 2013;Selbach & Poulin, 2020;Kiatsopit et al, 2014;Carpenter et al, 2021;Soldánová et al, 2022), as well as possibly the nutritional status of the cercariae (Fokina et al, 2018).…”

“…However, recent studies have lead to diverging results: from an increase of cercarial output from snails, as their primary hosts, with decreased survival time (Poulin, 2006;Selbach & Poulin, 2020) to a decrease in cercarial activity (Koprivnikar et al, 2010) and emergence (Morley & Lewis, 2013). These inconsistent findings may be caused by species-specific adaptation of the parasite, seasonal and circadian influences and competition between parasites in the primary host (Morley & Lewis, 2013;Selbach & Poulin, 2020;Kiatsopit et al, 2014;Carpenter et al, 2021;Soldánová et al, 2022), as well as possibly the nutritional status of the cercariae (Fokina et al, 2018). However, in the trematode Himasthla elongata a decrease of salinity seems to be more important for the emergence, activity, survival and infectivity of cercariae than an increase of temperature (Bommarito et al, 2020).…”