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. 2010 Dec;16(12):1896-904.
doi: 10.3201/eid1612.100776.

Surveillance and analysis of avian influenza viruses, Australia

Philip M Hansbro  1 , Simone Warner, John P Tracey, K Edla Arzey, Paul Selleck, Kim O'Riley, Emma L Beckett, Chris Bunn, Peter D Kirkland, Dhanasekaran Vijaykrishna, Bjorn Olsen, Aeron C Hurt
Affiliations

Surveillance and analysis of avian influenza viruses, Australia

Philip M Hansbro et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 Dec.

Abstract

We investigated carriage of avian influenza viruses by wild birds in Australia, 2005-2008, to assess the risks to poultry industries and human health. We collected 21,858 (7,357 cloacal, 14,501 fecal) samples and detected 300 viruses, representing a detection rate of ≈1.4%. Rates were highest in autumn (March-May) and differed substantially between bird types, areas, and years. We typed 107 avian influenza viruses and identified 19 H5, 8 H7, and 16 H9 (40% of typed viruses). All were of low pathogenicity. These viruses formed clearly different phylogenetic clades to lineages from Eurasia or North America, suggesting the potential existence of Australian lineages. H7 viruses were similar to highly pathogenic H7 strains that caused outbreaks in poultry in Australia. Several periods of increased detection rates (numbers or subtypes of viruses) were identified. This study demonstrates the need for ongoing surveillance to detect emerging pathogenic strains and facilitate prevention of outbreaks.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sampling sites for avian influenza in Australia. Most avian fecal and cloacal samples were collected from wetlands in coastal and inland New South Wales (NSW) or around Melbourne, Victoria (VIC), with minor sampling sites around Old Bar, Sydney, and Albury, NSW; Lord Howe Island (LHI); and northeastern Tasmania (TAS). Shorebirds refers to migratory shorebirds only.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Procedures followed in avian influence surveillance and analysis, Australia, 2005–2009. qRT-PCR, real-time quantitative reverse transcription–PCR; AIV, avian influenza virus; HA, hemagglutinin; NA, neuraminidase; BLAST, BLAST analysis (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Phylogenetic analysis of avian influenza viruses from Australia. Viruses were subtyped, and hemagglutinin genes from subtypes H5 (A), H7 (B), and H9 (C) were sequenced (boldface) and compared with isolates from other geographic locations. Only bootstrap values >50 are shown. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site. All sequences were submitted to GenBank (accession numbers pending). LPAI, low-pathogenicity avian influenza; HPAI, highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Figure 4
Figure 4
PCR-positive rates of avian influenza virus by season and species. Error bars indicate 95% confidence intervals.
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