Eco-virological approach for assessing the role of wild birds in the spread of avian influenza H5N1 along the central Asian flyway
PLoS ONE
By: Scott H. Newman, Nichola J. Hill, Kyle A. Spragens, Daniel Janies, Igor O. Voronkin, Diann J. Prosser, Baoping Yan, Fumin Lei, Nyambayar Batbayar, Tseveenmyadag Natsagdorj, Charles M. Bishop, Patrick J. Butler, Martin Wikelski, Sivananinthaperumal Balachandran, Taej Mundkur, David C. Douglas, and John Y. Takekawa
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Abstract
A unique pattern of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreaks has emerged along the Central Asia Flyway, where infection of wild birds has been reported with steady frequency since 2005. We assessed the potential for two hosts of HPAI H5N1, the bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) and ruddy shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), to act as agents for virus dispersal along this ‘thoroughfare’. We used an eco-virological approach to compare the migration of 141 birds marked with GPS satellite transmitters during 2005–2010 with: 1) the spatio-temporal patterns of poultry and wild bird outbreaks of HPAI H5N1, and 2) the trajectory of the virus in the outbreak region based on phylogeographic mapping. We found that biweekly utilization distributions (UDs) for 19.2% of bar-headed geese and 46.2% of ruddy shelduck were significantly associated with outbreaks. Ruddy shelduck showed highest correlation with poultry outbreaks owing to their wintering distribution in South Asia, where there is considerable opportunity for HPAI H5N1 spillover from poultry. Both species showed correlation with wild bird outbreaks during the spring migration, suggesting they may be involved in the northward movement of the virus. However, phylogeographic mapping of HPAI H5N1 clades 2.2 and 2.3 did not support dissemination of the virus in a northern direction along the migration corridor. In particular, two subclades (2.2.1 and 2.3.2) moved in a strictly southern direction in contrast to our spatio-temporal analysis of bird migration. Our attempt to reconcile the disciplines of wild bird ecology and HPAI H5N1 virology highlights prospects offered by both approaches as well as their limitations.
Suggested Citation
Newman, S.H., Hill, N., Spragens, K., Janies, D., Voronkin, I.O., Prosser, D.J., Yan, B., Lei, F., Batbayar, N., Natsagdorj, T., Bishop, C.M., Butler, P.J., Wikelski, M., Balachandran, S., Mundkur, T., Douglas, D.C., Takekawa, J.Y., 2012, Eco-virological approach for assessing the role of wild birds in the spread of avian influenza H5N1 along the central Asian flyway: PLoS ONE, v. 7, no. 2, e30636; 12 p., https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030636.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Eco-virological approach for assessing the role of wild birds in the spread of avian influenza H5N1 along the central Asian flyway |
| Series title | PLoS ONE |
| DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0030636 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Publication Date | February 07, 2012 |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Public Library of Science |
| Publisher location | San Francisco, CA |
| Contributing office(s) | Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Western Ecological Research Center |
| Description | e30636; 12 p. |