Tropism of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses from the 2020/2021 Epizootic in Wild Ducks and Geese
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks have become increasingly frequent in wild bird populations and have caused mass mortality in many wild bird species. The 2020/2021 epizootic was the largest and most deadly ever reported in Europe, and many new bird species tested positive for HPAI...
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Viruses |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/14/2/280 |
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| author | Valentina Caliendo Lonneke Leijten Marco van de Bildt Evelien Germeraad Ron A. M. Fouchier Nancy Beerens Thijs Kuiken |
| author_facet | Valentina Caliendo Lonneke Leijten Marco van de Bildt Evelien Germeraad Ron A. M. Fouchier Nancy Beerens Thijs Kuiken |
| author_sort | Valentina Caliendo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks have become increasingly frequent in wild bird populations and have caused mass mortality in many wild bird species. The 2020/2021 epizootic was the largest and most deadly ever reported in Europe, and many new bird species tested positive for HPAI virus for the first time. This study investigated the tropism of HPAI virus in wild birds. We tested the pattern of virus attachment of 2020 H5N8 virus to intestinal and respiratory tissues of key bird species; and characterized pathology of naturally infected Eurasian wigeons (<i>Mareca penelope</i>) and barnacle geese (<i>Branta leucopsis</i>). This study determined that 2020 H5N8 virus had a high level of attachment to the intestinal epithelium (enterotropism) of dabbling ducks and geese and retained attachment to airway epithelium (respirotropism). Natural HPAI 2020 H5 virus infection in Eurasian wigeons and barnacle geese also showed a high level of neurotropism, as both species presented with brain lesions that co-localized with virus antigen expression. We concluded that the combination of respirotropism, neurotropism, and possibly enterotropism, contributed to the successful adaptation of 2020/2021 HPAI H5 viruses to wild waterbird populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:52:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d7d0977899148259f5f12717bd2d1f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:52:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d7d0977899148259f5f12717bd2d1f92023-11-23T22:30:23ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152022-01-0114228010.3390/v14020280Tropism of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses from the 2020/2021 Epizootic in Wild Ducks and GeeseValentina Caliendo0Lonneke Leijten1Marco van de Bildt2Evelien Germeraad3Ron A. M. Fouchier4Nancy Beerens5Thijs Kuiken6Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Virology, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, 8221 RA Lelystad, The NetherlandsDepartment of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Virology, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, 8221 RA Lelystad, The NetherlandsDepartment of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The NetherlandsHighly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks have become increasingly frequent in wild bird populations and have caused mass mortality in many wild bird species. The 2020/2021 epizootic was the largest and most deadly ever reported in Europe, and many new bird species tested positive for HPAI virus for the first time. This study investigated the tropism of HPAI virus in wild birds. We tested the pattern of virus attachment of 2020 H5N8 virus to intestinal and respiratory tissues of key bird species; and characterized pathology of naturally infected Eurasian wigeons (<i>Mareca penelope</i>) and barnacle geese (<i>Branta leucopsis</i>). This study determined that 2020 H5N8 virus had a high level of attachment to the intestinal epithelium (enterotropism) of dabbling ducks and geese and retained attachment to airway epithelium (respirotropism). Natural HPAI 2020 H5 virus infection in Eurasian wigeons and barnacle geese also showed a high level of neurotropism, as both species presented with brain lesions that co-localized with virus antigen expression. We concluded that the combination of respirotropism, neurotropism, and possibly enterotropism, contributed to the successful adaptation of 2020/2021 HPAI H5 viruses to wild waterbird populations.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/14/2/280avian influenzaHPAIH5N8Eurasian wigeonbarnacle gooseenterotropism |
| spellingShingle | Valentina Caliendo Lonneke Leijten Marco van de Bildt Evelien Germeraad Ron A. M. Fouchier Nancy Beerens Thijs Kuiken Tropism of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses from the 2020/2021 Epizootic in Wild Ducks and Geese Viruses avian influenza HPAI H5N8 Eurasian wigeon barnacle goose enterotropism |
| title | Tropism of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses from the 2020/2021 Epizootic in Wild Ducks and Geese |
| title_full | Tropism of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses from the 2020/2021 Epizootic in Wild Ducks and Geese |
| title_fullStr | Tropism of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses from the 2020/2021 Epizootic in Wild Ducks and Geese |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tropism of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses from the 2020/2021 Epizootic in Wild Ducks and Geese |
| title_short | Tropism of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses from the 2020/2021 Epizootic in Wild Ducks and Geese |
| title_sort | tropism of highly pathogenic avian influenza h5 viruses from the 2020 2021 epizootic in wild ducks and geese |
| topic | avian influenza HPAI H5N8 Eurasian wigeon barnacle goose enterotropism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/14/2/280 |
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