3 Aug 2020
“This [research] aids our understanding of how a pathogenic avian flu virus could become established in wild bird populations” – Sam Lycett of The Roslin Institute.
James Westgate
Job Title
Highly pathogenic bird flu viruses – likely to cause deadly disease in chickens – can be transmitted from wild migratory populations to domestic flocks and back, according to a study of the 2016-17 outbreak.
Such viruses can readily exchange genetic material with other low-pathogenic viruses during migration, raising the likelihood of serious outbreaks in domestic poultry and wild birds, scientists have found.
Research led by a team including The Roslin Institute – representing the Global Consortium for H5N8 and Related Influenza Viruses – studied the genetic make-up of the 2016-17 bird flu virus in various birds at key stages during the flu season.
Their study offers insights into the outbreak strains, which originated in domestic birds in Asia before spreading via wild migratory flocks to create the largest bird flu epidemic in Europe to date.
The team interpreted genetic sequence data from virus samples collected during the outbreak, together with details of where, when and in which bird species they originated.
They found the virus could easily exchange genetic material with other, less harmful viruses, at times and locations corresponding to bird migratory cycles – these included viruses carried by wild birds on intersecting migratory routes, and by farmed ducks in China and central Europe.
Sam Lycett of The Roslin Institute said: “Bird flu viruses can readily exchange genetic material with other influenza viruses and this – in combination with repeated transmission of viruses between domestic and wild birds – means a viral strain can emerge and persist in wild bird populations, which carries a high risk of disease for poultry.
“This aids our understanding of how a pathogenic avian flu virus could become established in wild bird populations.”
