Survival of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Virus in Tissues Derived from Experimentally Infected Chickens

Abstract

Eurasian lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus has been a severe threat to the poultry industry since its emergence in 1996. The carcass or tissues derived from infected birds may present the risk of the virus spreading to humans, animals, and the surrounding environment. In this study, we investigated the survival of the virus in feather, muscle, and liver tissues collected from six chickens (Gallus gallus) experimentally infected with HPAI H5N1 virus. The tissues were stored at ϩ4°C or ϩ20°C, and viral isolation was performed at different times for 360 days. The maximum periods for viral survival were observed in samples stored at ϩ4°C in all tissue types and were 240 days in feather tissues, 160 days in muscle, and 20 days in liver. The viral infectivity at ϩ20°C was maintained for a maximum of 30 days in the feather tissues, 20 days in muscle, and 3 days in liver. The viral inactivation rates partly overlapped in the feather and muscle tissues at the two temperatures. The virus was inactivated rapidly in the liver. Our experimental results indicate that the tissue type and temperature can greatly influence the survival of HPAI H5N1 virus in the tissues of infected chickens.IMPORTANCE Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of the H5N1 subtype can cause massive losses of poultry, and people need to handle a large number of chicken carcasses contaminated with the virus at outbreak sites. This study evaluated how long the virus can keep its infectivity in the three types of tissues derived from chickens infected with the virus. Our experimental results indicate that the virus can survive in tissues for a specific period of time depending on the tissue type and temperature. Our results are valuable for better understanding of viral ecology in the environment and for reducing the risk of the virus spreading via bird tissues contaminated with the virus.KEYWORDS chicken, H5N1 subtype, influenza A virus, survival, tissue S ince its emergence in 1996, Eurasian lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus has been a severe threat to the poultry industry in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (1, 2). In 2014, clade 2.3.4.4 HPAI H5 virus, with a hemagglutinin gene derived from Eurasian HPAI H5N1 virus, was introduced into North America (3). In total, 42 million chickens and 7.5 million turkeys were destroyed during outbreaks in the United States in 2014 to 2015 (4). HPAI H5N1 virus has also become a public health concern, and 907 human cases with a case fatality rate of 53.3% due to avian origin H5N1 influenza virus infection were reported during 1997 to 2015 (5). In particular, 82.5% of these human cases had a history of exposure to poultry prior to disease manifestation (5).Experimental studies have been performed to elucidate the survival of the avian influenza virus in the environment, using various media such as distilled water, environmental water, and bird feces (6, 7). Temperature, pH, and salinity are factors that greatly influence viral survival (8, 9, 10). A...

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