“…Although studies with (LPAI)H5N1 show that LPAI strains are mostly localized in the lungs in chickens, a recent study showed that systemic distribution of LPAI H7N1, H7N7, H5N2, and H9N2 strains does occur in chickens, with virus detected and isolated in multiple organs, including lung, brain, intestine, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, heart, liver, kidney, and spleen [31, 32]. During 2012, wild birds (sacred Ibis and Egyptian geese) sampled in bird die-offs in Gauteng province tested positive for (LPAI)H7N1 in heart, spleen, and brain samples (Zoonoses Research Unit, University of Pretoria and National Institute for Communicable Diseases, and confirmed by the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute) (unpublished data).…”