Wille Michelle, Muradrasoli Shaman, Nilsson Anna, Järhult Josef D
Zoonosis Science Center, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2016 Mar 3;11(3):e0150198. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150198. eCollection 2016.
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are found in a wide variety of wild and domestic animals, and constitute a risk for zoonotic and emerging infectious disease. In poultry, the genetic diversity, evolution, distribution and taxonomy of some coronaviruses have been well described, but little is known about the features of CoVs in wild birds. In this study we screened 764 samples from 22 avian species of the orders Anseriformes and Charadriiformes in Sweden collected in 2006/2007 for CoV, with an overall CoV prevalence of 18.7%, which is higher than many other wild bird surveys. The highest prevalence was found in the diving ducks--mainly Greater Scaup (Aythya marila; 51.5%)--and the dabbling duck Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos; 19.2%). Sequences from two of the Greater Scaup CoV fell into an infrequently detected lineage, shared only with a Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) CoV. Coronavirus sequences from Mallards in this study were highly similar to CoV sequences from the sample species and location in 2011, suggesting long-term maintenance in this population. A single Black-headed Gull represented the only positive sample from the order Charadriiformes. Globally, Anas species represent the largest fraction of avian CoV sequences, and there seems to be no host species, geographical or temporal structure. To better understand the eitiology, epidemiology and ecology of these viruses more systematic surveillance of wild birds and subsequent sequencing of detected CoV is imperative.
冠状病毒（CoVs）存在于多种野生动物和家畜中，构成了人畜共患和新出现传染病的风险。在家禽中，一些冠状病毒的遗传多样性、进化、分布和分类已得到充分描述，但对于野生鸟类中冠状病毒的特征却知之甚少。在本研究中，我们对2006/2007年在瑞典采集的雁形目和鸻形目22种鸟类的764个样本进行了冠状病毒筛查，冠状病毒总体患病率为18.7%，高于许多其他野生鸟类调查。患病率最高的是潜鸭——主要是斑背潜鸭（Aythya marila；51.5%）——以及绿头鸭（Anas platyrhynchos；19.2%）。两只斑背潜鸭冠状病毒的序列属于一个很少被检测到的谱系，仅与一只凤头潜鸭（Aythya fuligula）冠状病毒相同。本研究中绿头鸭的冠状病毒序列与2011年同一物种和地点样本的冠状病毒序列高度相似，表明该种群中存在长期维持现象。一只黑头鸥是鸻形目中唯一的阳性样本。在全球范围内，鸭属物种代表了鸟类冠状病毒序列的最大比例，而且似乎不存在宿主物种、地理或时间结构。为了更好地了解这些病毒的病因、流行病学和生态学，对野生鸟类进行更系统的监测以及对检测到的冠状病毒进行后续测序势在必行。
