Transatlantic spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 by wild birds from Europe to North America in 2021

Caliendo, Valentina; Lewis, Nicola S.; Pohlmann, Anne; Baillie, Stephen R.; Banyard, Ashley C.; Beer, Martin; Brown, Ian H.; Fouchier, Ron A. M.; Hansen, Rowena; Lameris, Thomas K.; Lang, Andrew S.; Laurendeau, Sonja; Lung, Oliver; Robertson, Greg; Jeugd, Henk van der; Alkie, Tamiru Negash; Thorup, Kasper; Toor, Mariëlle Liduine van; Waldenström, Jonas; Yason, Carmencita V.; Kuiken, Thijs; Berhane, Yohannes

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-13447-z

Cited by 181 publications

(205 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The first North American infections with HPAI clade 2.3.4.4b were from samples collected in November 2021 in Canada and late December 2021 in the US (18, 19). Phylogenetic analysis supports at least one incursion of H5 2.3.4.4b via the Atlantic flyway (20, 21). As of July 13, 2022, there have been 126 federally reported wild bird detections in New England ( Fig.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 82%

Outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in New England Seals

Puryear

Sawatzki

Hill

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The recent incursion of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) virus into North America and subsequent dissemination of virus across the continent, has had significant adverse impacts on domestic poultry, and has led to widespread mortality in many wild bird species. Here we report the recent spillover of H5N1 into marine mammals in the northeastern United States, with associated mortality on a regional scale. This spillover is coincident with a second wave of H5N1 in sympatric wild birds also experiencing regional mortality events. Viral sequences derived from both seal and avian hosts reveal distinct viral genetic differences between the two waves of infection. Spillover into seals was closely related to virus from the second wave, and one of eight seal-derived sequences had the mammalian adaptation PB2 E627K.

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Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 82%

Outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in New England Seals

Puryear

Sawatzki

Hill

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Starting from October 2021, different A(H5N1) genotypes, some of them previously identified in Europe, have been detected in South and East Asia, including China (Cui et al, 2022). In December 2021, North America announced the first detection of an A(H5N1) virus strongly related to the A(H5N1) identified in Northern Europe during the 2020-2021 epidemic season (Bevins et al, 2022;Caliendo et al, 2022b).…”

Section: Description Of the Nomenclature Of The Hpai A(h5) Viruses Us...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian influenza overview June – September 2022

Adlhoch¹,

Fusaro²,

Gonzáles³

et al. 2022

EFS2

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The 2021-2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) epidemic season is the largest HPAI epidemic so far observed in Europe, with a total of 2,467 outbreaks in poultry, 47.7 million birds culled in the affected establishments, 187 outbreaks in captive birds, and 3,573 HPAI virus detections in wild birds with an unprecedent geographical extent reaching from Svalbard islands to South Portugal and Ukraine, affecting 37 European countries. Between 11 June and 9 September 2022, 788 HPAI virus detections were reported in 16 European countries in poultry (56), captive ( 22) and wild birds (710). Several colony-breeding seabird species exhibited widespread and massive mortality from HPAI A(H5N1) virus along the northwest coast of Europe. This resulted in an unprecedentedly high level of HPAI virus detections in wild birds between June and August 2022 and represents an ongoing risk of infection for domestic birds. HPAI outbreaks were still observed in poultry from June to September with five-fold more infected premises than observed during the same period in 2021 and mostly distributed along the Atlantic coast. Response options to this new epidemiological situation include the definition and rapid implementation of suitable and sustainable HPAI mitigation strategies such as appropriate biosecurity measures and surveillance strategies for early detection in the different poultry production systems. The viruses currently circulating in Europe belong to clade 2.3.4.4b with seven genotypes, three of which identified for the first time during this time period, being detected during summer. HPAI A(H5) viruses were also detected in wild mammal species in Europe and North America and showed genetic markers of adaptation to replication in mammals. Since the last report, two A(H5N6), two A(H9N2) and one A(H10N3) human infections were reported in China. The risk of infection is assessed as low for the general population in the EU/EEA, and low to medium for occupationally exposed people.

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“…Outbreaks have been demonstrated to spread along migratory flyways as well as along the perimeter of the Arctic Circle, both of which facilitate the onward inter-continental spread of LPAI and HPAI viruses to global regions with densely populated agricultural and human communities [ 3 , 5 , 10 ]. Though there is limited evidence of HPAI viruses isolated from wildlife in Arctic regions, HPAI viruses deriving from clade 2.3.4.4 have been detected among wild birds in Alaska in 2014 and Northeastern Canada in 2021, both of which caused sizeable outbreaks among wild and domestic birds throughout North America [ 10 , 78 ]. The frequency of HPAI incursion via Arctic zones to southern regions is currently unknown; however, given the movement of HPAI viruses in late 2021 via wild bird migration between mainland Europe and North America, most likely through North Atlantic Arctic regions [ 78 ], there is an increased need to uncover species-specific, seasonal, regional, and climate-related mechanisms of HPAI diffusion globally [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 , 40 , 42 , 57 , 58 , 118 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While most of the literature focuses on avian species, we found considerable but limited data on IAVs derived from marine and terrestrial mammals as well as environmental matrices including bodies of water and excreta deposits in the environment. LPAI and HPAI viruses have been detected in Arctic regions and several events have spread highly consequential IAVs between Arctic and southern regions [ 78 ]. Continued and increased geographic and host-range scope for surveillance activities in the Arctic will enable predictive models of species-specific and seasonal circulation of viruses and assist in mitigating the impact of IAVs at the interface of wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiology and Ecology of Influenza A Viruses among Wildlife in the Arctic

Gass

Kellogg

Hill

et al. 2022

Viruses

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Arctic regions are ecologically significant for the environmental persistence and geographic dissemination of influenza A viruses (IAVs) by avian hosts and other wildlife species. Data describing the epidemiology and ecology of IAVs among wildlife in the arctic are less frequently published compared to southern temperate regions, where prevalence and subtype diversity are more routinely documented. Following PRISMA guidelines, this systematic review addresses this gap by describing the prevalence, spatiotemporal distribution, and ecological characteristics of IAVs detected among wildlife and the environment in this understudied region of the globe. The literature search was performed in PubMed and Google Scholar using a set of pre-defined search terms to identify publications reporting on IAVs in Arctic regions between 1978 and February 2022. A total of 2125 articles were initially screened, 267 were assessed for eligibility, and 71 articles met inclusion criteria. IAVs have been detected in multiple wildlife species in all Arctic regions, including seabirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, seals, sea lions, whales, and terrestrial mammals, and in the environment. Isolates from wild birds comprise the majority of documented viruses derived from wildlife; however, among all animals and environmental matrices, 26 unique low and highly pathogenic subtypes have been characterized in the scientific literature from Arctic regions. Pooled prevalence across studies indicates 4.23% for wild birds, 3.42% among tested environmental matrices, and seroprevalences of 9.29% and 1.69% among marine and terrestrial mammals, respectively. Surveillance data are geographically biased, with most data from the Alaskan Arctic and many fewer reports from the Russian, Canadian, North Atlantic, and Western European Arctic. We highlight multiple important aspects of wildlife host, pathogen, and environmental ecology of IAVs in Arctic regions, including the role of avian migration and breeding cycles for the global spread of IAVs, evidence of inter-species and inter-continental reassortment at high latitudes, and how climate change-driven ecosystem shifts, including changes in the seasonal availability and distribution of dietary resources, have the potential to alter host–pathogen–environment dynamics in Arctic regions. We conclude by identifying gaps in knowledge and propose priorities for future research.

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Transatlantic spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 by wild birds from Europe to North America in 2021

Cited by 181 publications

References 31 publications

Outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in New England Seals

Outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in New England Seals

Avian influenza overview June – September 2022

Epidemiology and Ecology of Influenza A Viruses among Wildlife in the Arctic

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