Sullivan Jeffery D, McDonough Ayla M, Lescure Lauren M, Prosser Diann J
U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD 20708, USA.
Akima Systems Engineering, Contractor for U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD 20708, USA.
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2024 Apr 3;2024:3022927. doi: 10.1155/2024/3022927. eCollection 2024.
While the recent incursion of highly pathogenic avian influenza into North America has resulted in notable losses to the commercial poultry industry, the mechanism by which virus enters commercial poultry houses is still not understood. One theorized mechanism is that waterfowl shed virus into the environment surrounding poultry farms, such as into retention ponds, and is then transmitted into poultry houses via bridge species. Little is known about if and when wild waterfowl use these retention ponds, leading to uncertainty regarding the potential significance of this interface. To quantify the use of retention ponds on commercial poultry farms by wild waterfowl, we surveyed 12 such ponds across Somerset and Dorchester counties, Maryland, USA. This region was chosen due to the high level of poultry production and its importance for migratory waterfowl. Surveys consisted of recording waterfowl visible on the retention ponds from public roadways at least once per week from 20 September 2022-31 March 2023. Throughout the course of this study, we observed a total of nine species of waterfowl using retention ponds on commercial poultry farms at nine of 12 sites. The number of waterfowl observed at retention ponds varied notably throughout the course of our survey period, with values generally following trends of fall migration within each species indicating that resident birds were not the only individuals to utilize these habitats. Additionally, waterfowl use was highest at sites with little vegetation immediately surrounding the pond, and lowest when ponds were surrounded by trees. Our data suggest that retention ponds on commercial poultry farms present a notable interface for waterfowl to introduce avian influenza viruses to farm sites. However, additional testing and surveys could provide further insight into whether it may be possible to reduce the use of these habitats by wild waterfowl through vegetative management as preliminarily reported here.
虽然最近高致病性禽流感侵入北美给商业家禽业造成了显著损失，但病毒进入商业家禽舍的机制仍不清楚。一种理论机制是，水禽将病毒排放到家禽养殖场周围的环境中，如滞洪池，然后通过桥梁物种传播到家禽舍。对于野生水禽是否以及何时使用这些滞洪池知之甚少，这导致了关于这个界面潜在重要性的不确定性。为了量化野生水禽对商业家禽养殖场滞洪池的使用情况，我们对美国马里兰州萨默塞特县和多切斯特县的12个这样的池塘进行了调查。选择该地区是因为其家禽产量高以及对迁徙水禽的重要性。调查包括从2022年9月20日至2023年3月31日，每周至少一次记录在公共道路上可见的滞洪池上的水禽。在这项研究过程中，我们在12个地点中的9个地点观察到共有9种水禽使用商业家禽养殖场的滞洪池。在我们的调查期间，在滞洪池观察到的水禽数量变化显著，每个物种的数量总体上遵循秋季迁徙趋势，这表明常驻鸟类并非唯一利用这些栖息地的个体。此外，在池塘周围植被较少的地点水禽使用量最高，而在池塘被树木环绕时使用量最低。我们的数据表明，商业家禽养殖场的滞洪池是水禽将禽流感病毒引入养殖场的一个显著界面。然而，如本文初步报道的那样，进一步的测试和调查可以提供更多关于是否有可能通过植被管理减少野生水禽对这些栖息地使用的见解。
