Division of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2022 Mar;69(2):369-377. doi: 10.1111/tbed.13988. Epub 2021 Feb 17.
Influenza A viruses (IAVs) and Newcastle disease viruses (NDVs) are major human and animal health threats with geographic differences in prevalence, characteristics and host populations. Currently, there is sparse information on IAVs and NDVs in avian species in South Africa. Because raptors feed on live wild birds which are the reservoir hosts of IAVs and NDVs, we considered them a good sentinel for surveillance. Therefore, in addition to other resident birds of prey, migratory Amur falcons (Falco amurensis) were screened for IAVs and NDVs. Oropharyngeal and cloacal samples were collected from raptor species at three sampling sites in KwaZulu-Natal Province and samples were screened for IAVs and NDVs using molecular and virus isolation methods. IAV-positive samples were further screened for the presence of H5, H7 and H9 viruses. A total of 14 samples from 11 birds (45.8% of all sampled birds) were IAV positive with C lower than 36 in duplicate tests. Five out of 24 birds (20.8%) were positive for IAV RNA in duplicate testing, albeit at low concentrations. Among raptor samples, three out of 24 birds (12.5%) were positive for IAVs with viral RNA detected in both cloacal and oropharyngeal swabs. One IAV-positive sample was also positive for H5 subtype (4.1%); all other samples were H5, H7 and H9 negative. Besides, all samples were NDV negative. Overall, our results support the development of more intensive and expanded influenza and other emerging virus studies in raptor species.
甲型流感病毒（IAV）和新城疫病毒（NDV）是人类和动物健康的主要威胁，其在地理分布、流行特点和宿主种群方面存在差异。目前，南非禽类中的 IAV 和 NDV 信息较为匮乏。由于猛禽以活野生鸟类为食，而这些鸟类是 IAV 和 NDV 的宿主，因此我们认为猛禽是监测这些病毒的良好哨兵。因此，除了其他常驻猛禽外，我们还对迁徙的阿穆尔隼（Falco amurensis）进行了 IAV 和 NDV 的筛查。我们在夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的三个采样点采集了来自猛禽物种的口咽和泄殖腔样本，并使用分子和病毒分离方法对 IAV 和 NDV 进行了筛查。IAV 阳性样本进一步筛查了 H5、H7 和 H9 病毒的存在情况。共有 14 个样本来自 11 只鸟（所有采样鸟类的 45.8%），其重复测试的 C 值低于 36。24 只鸟中有 5 只（20.8%）在重复测试中 RNA 呈 IAV 阳性，尽管浓度较低。在猛禽样本中，有 3 只（12.5%）的 IAV 阳性，在口咽和泄殖腔拭子中均检测到病毒 RNA。1 个 IAV 阳性样本也对 H5 亚型呈阳性（4.1%）；所有其他样本均对 H5、H7 和 H9 呈阴性。此外，所有样本均对 NDV 呈阴性。总体而言，我们的研究结果支持对猛禽物种中的流感和其他新兴病毒进行更密集和更广泛的研究。
