Surveillance of Influenza Viruses in Waterfowl Used As Decoys in Andalusia, Spain
Autor
Jurado Tarifa, Estefanía
Napp, Sebastián
Gómez-Pacheco, Juan M.
Fernández-Morente, Manuel
Arenas-Casas, Antonio
García-Bocanegra, Ignacio
Jaén-Téllez, Juan Antonio
Editor
Public Library of ScienceFecha
2014Materia
Avian influenza virusesAIVs
Andalusia
AI seroprevalence
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A longitudinal study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in waterfowl used as
decoys in Andalusia, southern Spain. A total of 2319 aquatic birds from 193 flocks were analyzed before and after the
hunting season 2011–2012. In the first sampling, 403 out of 2319 (18.0%, CI95%: 15.8–19.0) decoys showed antibodies
against AIVs by ELISA. The AI seroprevalence was significantly higher in geese (21.0%) than in ducks (11.7%) (P,0.001).
Besides, the spatial distribution of AIVs was not homogeneous as significant differences among regions were observed. The
prevalence of antibodies against AIVs subtypes H5 and H7 were 1.1% and 0.3%, respectively, using hemagglutination
inhibition test (HI). The overall and H5 seroprevalences slightly increased after the hunting period (to 19.2% and 1.4%,
respectively), while the H7 seroprevalence remained at the same level (0.3%). The proportion of flocks infected by AIVs was
65.3%, while 11.2% and 4.9% of flocks were positive for H5 and H7, respectively. Viral shedding was not detected in any of
the 47 samples positive by both ELISA and HI, tested by RRT-PCR. The individual incidence after the hunting season was
3.4%. The fact that 57 animals seroconverted, 15 of which were confirmed by HI (12 H5 and 3 H7), was indication of contact
with AIVs during the hunting period. The results indicate that waterfowl used as decoys are frequently exposed to AIVs and
may be potentially useful as sentinels for AIVs monitoring. The seroprevalence detected and the seropositivity against AIVs
H5 and H7, suggest that decoys can act as reservoirs of AIVs, which may be of animal and public health concern