Transmission dynamics of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus at the wildlife-poultry-environmental interface: A case study
Jolene A. Giacinti,
Madeline Jarvis-Cross,
Hannah Lewis,
Jennifer F. Provencher,
Yohannes Berhane,
Kevin Kuchinski,
Claire M. Jardine,
Anthony Signore,
Sarah C. Mansour,
Denby E. Sadler,
Brian Stevens,
Natalie A. Prystajecky,
Sailendra N. Sarma,
Davor Ojkic,
Gabrielle Angelo P. Cortez,
Marzieh Kalhor,
Ethan Kenmuir,
Christopher M. Sharp
Affiliations
Jolene A. Giacinti
Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Corresponding author.
Madeline Jarvis-Cross
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Canada
Hannah Lewis
Ontario Region Wildlife and Habitat Assessment Section, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Jennifer F. Provencher
Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Yohannes Berhane
National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Government of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Kevin Kuchinski
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Claire M. Jardine
Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Anthony Signore
National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Government of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Sarah C. Mansour
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Denby E. Sadler
Ontario Region Wildlife and Habitat Assessment Section, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Brian Stevens
Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Natalie A. Prystajecky
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Public Health Laboratory, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Sailendra N. Sarma
Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Davor Ojkic
Animal Health Laboratory, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Gabrielle Angelo P. Cortez
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Marzieh Kalhor
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Ethan Kenmuir
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Christopher M. Sharp
Ontario Region Wildlife and Habitat Assessment Section, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) regularly circulate between wild and domestic bird populations. Following several high-profile outbreaks, highly pathogenic AIVs (HPAIV) with zoonotic potential have been the subject of increasing attention. While we know that HPAIV is transmitted between domestic birds, wildlife, and the environment, little is known about persistence and spillover/back at these interfaces. We integrated the test results of samples collected on and around an infected domestic poultry premise (IP) where H5N1 HPAIV was confirmed in a flock of poultry in 2022 in Southern Ontario, Canada to explore the transmission cycle of AIVs in wildlife and the environment. We sampled a captive flock of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) that resided on site, sediment samples collected from water bodies on site, and examined samples collected through surveillance within a 100 km radius of the IP from live wild ducks and sick and dead wildlife. We found serologic evidence of H5 exposure in the captive mallards that resided on site despite no evidence of morbidity or mortality in these birds and no PCR positive detections from samples collected at two different timepoints. Genetic material from the same H5N1 HPAIV subtype circulating in the domestic birds and from low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses were detected in wetlands on site. The results of live and sick and dead surveillance conducted within a 100 km radius confirmed that the virus was circulating in wildlife before and after IP confirmation. These results suggest that biosecurity remains the most critical aspect of minimising spillover/back risk in a virus that has been shown to circulate in asymptomatic wild birds and persist in the surrounding environment.
