Viruses (May 2023)

Does Avian Coronavirus Co-Circulate with Avian Paramyxovirus and Avian Influenza Virus in Wild Ducks in Siberia?

  • Kirill Sharshov,
  • Nikita Dubovitskiy,
  • Anastasiya Derko,
  • Arina Loginova,
  • Ilya Kolotygin,
  • Dmitry Zhirov,
  • Ivan Sobolev,
  • Olga Kurskaya,
  • Alexander Alekseev,
  • Alexey Druzyaka,
  • Pavel Ktitorov,
  • Olga Kulikova,
  • Guimei He,
  • Zhenghuan Wang,
  • Yuhai Bi,
  • Alexander Shestopalov

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v15051121
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 5
p. 1121

Abstract

Read online

Avian coronaviruses (ACoV) have been shown to be highly prevalent in wild bird populations. More work on avian coronavirus detection and diversity estimation is needed for the breeding territories of migrating birds, where the high diversity and high prevalence of Orthomyxoviridae and Paramyxoviridae have already been shown in wild birds. In order to detect ACoV RNA, we conducted PCR diagnostics of cloacal swab samples from birds, which we monitored during avian influenza A virus surveillance activities. Samples from two distant Asian regions of Russia (Sakhalin region and Novosibirsk region) were tested. Amplified fragments of the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) of positive samples were partially sequenced to determine the species of Coronaviridae represented. The study revealed a high presence of ACoV among wild birds in Russia. Moreover, there was a high presence of birds co-infected with avian coronavirus, avian influenza virus, and avian paramyxovirus. We found one case of triple co-infection in a Northern Pintail (Anas acuta). Phylogenetic analysis revealed the circulation of a Gammacoronavirus species. A Deltacoronavirus species was not detected, which supports the data regarding the low prevalence of deltacoronaviruses among surveyed bird species.

Keywords