Novel Eurasian Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A H5 Viruses in Wild Birds, Washington, USA, 2014

Authors

Hon S. Ip, US Geologic Survey–National Wildlife Health Center
Mia Kim Torchetti, US Department of Agriculture, Ames, IowaFollow
Rocio Crespo, Washington State University, Pullman
Paul Kohrs, Washington Department of Agriculture
Paul DeBruyn, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia
Kristin G. Mansfield, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, OlympiaFollow
Timothy Baszler, Washington State University, Pullman
Lyndon Badcoe, Washington Department of Agriculture
Barbara Bodenstein, US Geologic Survey–National Wildlife Health Center
Valerie Shearn-Bochsler, US Geologic Survey–National Wildlife Health CenterFollow
Mary Lea Killian, US Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa
Janice C. Pedersen, US Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa
Nichole Hines, US Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa
Thomas Gidlewski, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife ServicesFollow
Thomas J. Deliberto, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Jonathan M. Sleeman, US Geologic Survey–National Wildlife Health Center

Date of this Version

2015

Citation

Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol. 21, No. 5, May 2015

Comments

U.S. Government Work

Abstract

The novel Eurasian lineage clade 2.3.4.4 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N8) virus (http://www.who.int/influenza/gisrs_laboratory/h5_nomenclature_clade2344/en/) spread rapidly and globally during 2014, substantially affecting poultry populations. The first outbreaks were reported during January 2014 in chickens and domestic ducks in South Korea and subsequently in China and Japan (1–4), reaching Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom by November 2014 and Italy in early December 2014 (5). Also in November 2014, a novel HPAI H5N2 virus was reported in outbreaks on chicken and turkey farms in Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada (5). This H5N2 influenza virus is a reassortant that contains the Eurasian clade 2.3.4.4 H5 plus 4 other Eurasian genes (polymerase acidic protein subunit, matrix protein, polymerase basic protein subunit [PB] 2, nonstructural protein) and 3 North American wild bird lineage genes (neuraminidase [NA], nucleoprotein, PB1) (5). Taiwan has recently reported novel reassortants of the H5 clade 2.3.4.4 with other Eurasian viruses (H5N2, H5N3).