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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Exotic & Emerging Avian Viral Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #315107
Title: Research update on H5Nx HPAI in the Americas

Author
item Suarez, David
item Pantin Jackwood, Mary
item Spackman, Erica
item Kapczynski, Darrell
item Swayne, David

Submitted to: North Central Avian Disease Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/23/2015
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has occurred in the United States in late 2014. The lineage of virus can be traced back to Chinese strains from 1996. The virus has moved from poultry into wild birds, and the virus is thought to have spread into the Americas during the breeding season of ducks in Alaska. During the winter migration, the wild ducks brought the virus to the lower 48 states and multiple backyard and commercial poultry flocks have been infected. Studies at the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory were performed to examine the virus, which includes at least three different variants based on reassortment events. The virus does cause mortality in chickens, quail, and turkeys, but the infectious dose required for infection is higher than seen for most other highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses. The virus also transmitted poorly to contact control birds. In contrast the virus easily infected mallard ducks and transmitted easily, but caused no mortality. Additional data on these experiments will be provided.