Ahead of Print -Novel Reassortant Influenza A(H5N8) Viruses among Inoculated Domestic and Wild Ducks, South Korea, 2014 - Volume 21, Number 2—February 2015 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

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Ahead of Print -Novel Reassortant Influenza A(H5N8) Viruses among Inoculated Domestic and Wild Ducks, South Korea, 2014 - Volume 21, Number 2—February 2015 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

Volume 21, Number 2—February 2015

Research

Novel Reassortant Influenza A(H5N8) Viruses among Inoculated Domestic and Wild Ducks, South Korea, 2014

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• Materials and Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Suggested Citation

Figures

• Figure

Tables

• Table 1
• Table 2
• Table 3
• Table 4

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Hyun-Mi Kang, Eun-Kyoung Lee, Byung-Min Song, Jipseol Jeong, Jun-Gu Choi, Joojin Jeong, Oun-Kyong Moon, Hachung Yoon, Youngmi Cho, Young-Myong Kang, Hee-Soo Lee, and Youn-Jeong Lee 

Author affiliations: Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Anyang, South Korea

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract

An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, caused by a novel reassortant influenza A (H5N8) virus, occurred among poultry and wild birds in South Korea in 2014. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pathogenesis in and mode of transmission of this virus among domestic and wild ducks. Three of the viruses had similar pathogenicity among infected domestic ducks: the H5N8 viruses were moderately pathogenic (0%–20% mortality rate); in wild mallard ducks, the H5N8 and H5N1 viruses did not cause severe illness or death; viral replication and shedding were greater in H5N8-infected mallards than in H5N1-infected mallards. Identification of H5N8 viruses in birds exposed to infected domestic ducks and mallards indicated that the viruses could spread by contact. We propose active surveillance to support prevention of the spread of this virus among wild birds and poultry, especially domestic ducks.

Wild birds in orders Anseriformes (ducks, geese, swans) and Charadriiformes (gulls, terns, shore birds) are the natural reservoirs of avian influenza viruses (1,2). In wild aquatic birds, low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses are in a state of evolutionary equilibrium, and infected hosts usually show no signs of disease. However, a Qinghai-like H5N1 virus caused an outbreak in migratory waterfowl during 2005 before spreading from Asia to Europe and Africa (3,4). The outbreak gave rise to concerns that infections of wild birds with the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus subtype H5N1, which causes mild or no clinical signs in these birds, could result in transmission of the virus over long distances (5,6).

As was the case in other wild birds, HPAI H5N1viruses were not known to be pathogenic in domestic ducks before 2002 (7–9), but since then, HPAI H5N1 viruses that are pathogenic in ducks have been isolated in many countries (3,5,10,11). In South Korea, 4 outbreaks of HPAI H5N1have occurred among poultry (mainly chickens and domestic ducks) and wild birds. Before 2010, H5N1 HPAI viruses among birds were detected mostly in poultry (chickens, domestic ducks, and quail), with the single exception of 1 magpie in 2004. By contrast, during 2010–2011, many cases occurred in various wild birds such as the Eurasian eagle owl, mandarin duck, Baikal teal duck, mallard duck, whooper swan, spot-billed duck, sparrow hawk, common kestrel, and white-fronted goose, as well as in poultry. Although all viruses in these outbreaks were highly pathogenic in chickens, the pathogenicity of these viruses varied among domestic ducks; the pathogenicity was 0%–25% during 2003–2004 (clade 2.5, H5N1), 0% during 2006–2007 (clade 2.2, H5N1), 50%–100% during 2008 (clade 2.3.2.1, H5N1), and 50%–100% during 2010–2011 (clade 2.3.2.1, H5N1) (5,12–15).

Outbreaks of HPAI H5N8 infection in poultry were first reported in ducks and turkeys in Ireland in 1983. In 2010, outbreaks of infection with the HPAI H5N8 virus derived from the Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 (Gs/GD) lineage were first reported in duck farms in Jiangsu, China (16). Early in 2014, an outbreak of HPAI caused by a novel reassortant H5N8 virus occurred in Korea. The virus belonged to clade 2.3.4.6 and comprised 2 distinct genotypes (17). It has been suggested that viruses belonging to the major genotypes Buan2 and Donglim3 might be reassortants containing the polymerase basic protein 2, hemagglutinin (HA), nucleoprotein, and neuraminidase (NA) genes from viruses in the outbreak in China during 2010 (A/duck/Jiangsu/k1203/2013 (H5N8) (17). The HPAI H5N8 viruses were isolated from both wild birds and poultry. They were found in captured, apparently healthy, migratory wild birds and in dead birds, including mallards (both alive and dead), and in domestic chickens, geese, and ducks; the outbreak positive rate on duck farms was >70% (13).

There have been no previous reports about the pathogenicity of novel reassortant H5N8 isolates in wild birds and domestic ducks. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the pathogenesis in and mode of transmission of a novel reassortant H5N8 virus among mallard and domestic ducks, which are the poultry populations primarily affected by these viruses in South Korea.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Animal, Plant and Quarantine Agency (B–1541767–2013–15–01) and from the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (313016031SB010), Republic of Korea.

Dr. Kang is a microbiologist at the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, South Korea. Her research interests are focused on surveillance, genetics, and pathogenesis of avian influenza.

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Figure

• Figure. Virus isolation from oropharyngeal (OP) or cloacal (CL) swab samples collected from domestic ducks exposed to influenza viruses by inoculation or contact with infected ducks. Nine ducks were intranasally inoculated...

Tables

• Table 1. Weight loss, morbidity, mortality rate, and HI titers of domestic ducks exposed to 3 strains of H5N8 influenza virus
• Table 2. Virus isolation from swab samples obtained from 2 Baikal teal ducks inoculated with influenza A/broilerduck/Kr/Buan2/2014 (H5N8) virus
• Table 3. Virus titers in tissues of domestic ducks and mallard ducks inoculated intranasally with H5N8 and H5N1 influenza viruses
• Table 4. Virus isolation from swab samples obtained from mallard ducks inoculated with H5N8 and H5N1 influenza viruses

Suggested citation for this article: Kang HM, Lee EK, Song BM, Jeong J, Choi JG, et al. Novel reassortant influenza A(H5N8) viruses among domestic and wild ducks, South Korea, 2014. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 Feb [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2102.141268

DOI: 10.3201/eid2102.141268