Emergence of a Novel Reassortant H5N3 Avian Influenza Virus in Korean Mallard Ducks in 2018

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The avian influenza (AI) virus causes a highly contagious disease which is common in wild and domestic birds and sporadic in humans. Mutations and genetic reassortments among the 8 negative-sense RNA segments of the viral genome alter its pathogenic potential, demanding well-targeted, active surveillance for infection control. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Wild duck fecal samples were collected during the 2018 bird health annual surveillance in South Korea for tracking variations of the AI virus. One low-pathogenic avian influenza H5N3 reassortment virus (A/mallard duck/South Korea/KNU18-91/2018 [H5N3]) was isolated and genomically characterized by phylogenetic and molecular analyses in this study. <b><i>Results:</i></b> It was devoid of polybasic amino acids at the hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage site and exhibited a stalk region without deletion in the neuraminidase (<i>NA</i>) gene and NA inhibitor resistance-linked E/D627K/N and D701N marker mutations in the <i>PB2</i> gene, suggesting its low-pathogenic AI. It showed a potential of a reassortment where only <i>HA</i> originated from the H5N3 poultry virus of China and other genes were derived from Mongolia. In phylogenetic analysis, HA was different from that of the isolate of H5N3 in Korea, 2015. In addition, this novel virus showed adaptation in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, with 8.05 ± 0.14 log10 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50) /mL at 36 h postinfection. However, it could not replicate in mice well, showing positive growth at 3 days postinfection (dpi) (2.1 ± 0.13 log10 TCID50/mL) but not at 6 dpi. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The HA antigenic relationship of A/mallard duck/South Korea/KNU18-91/2018 (H5N3) showed differences toward one of the old low-pathogenic H5N3 viruses in Korea. These results indicated that a novel reassortment low-pathogenic avian influenza H5N3 subtype virus emerged in South Korea in 2018 via novel multiple reassortments with Eurasian viruses, rather than one of old Korean H5N3 strains.

[Red-crested pochard, Netta rufina, breeding population in Piedmont (North Western Italy)]

[The breeding of the Red-crested pochard in Piedmont is known since 2006, when it was first described in a pond near the town of Asti. Data were collected from specific databases and from field observations performed in 3 sites located in the Asti province and 2 sites in the Cuneo province, all of them placed along the Tanaro riversides. A further site is located in the province of Alessandria near the Po river along the border of Lombardy. On the whole, in the time span 2006-2019 the number of breeding pairs increased from 2 to a maximum of 7 per year. A total of 64 females with 326 chicks were recorded (average 5.1/female), June being the most favorable month for reproduction. Results point to the occurrence of a seemingly stable small breeding population. The lack of any kind of legal site protection, the anthropogenic disturbance (hunting, fishing, abandoning wastes), and the loss of the ideal habitat for reproduction are among the critical threats for the maintenance of a vital breeding population. There was a probable case of nest parasitism by Mallard duck, which is seldom observed since the opposite situation seems to be more common.] [Article in Italian]

Seasonal Variation in the Haematological Parameters of the Adult Mallard Duck in a Tropical Environment

Duck production is a growing poultry enterprise in Nigeria and they are mostly reared in extensive management system. However, the haematological profiles as influenced by the tropical environment have not been well documented. The objective of the present study was to examine the seasonal variation in the haematological parameters of the adult Mallard duck in the tropical environment of Nigeria; as they effects duck production adversely. The Erythrocyte, leucocyte and platelet counts, as well as the erythrocyte osmotic fragility of the domestic duck of the mallard breed during the wet and dry seasons in the hot humid tropical environment of the Experimental Animal Unit of the Department of Veterinary Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria was investigated. The study showed that the values of the packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and platelet were significantly higher in the dry season than in the wet season, but the red blood cell (RBC), haemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), total and differential leucocyte values were similar in the two seasons. The erythrocyte fragility was also higher in the dry season. In conclusion the higher PCV, MCH and platelet values in the dry season might have resulted from haemoconcentration occasioned by higher evaporative heat loss, which is a common occurrence in the dry season. The higher erythrocyte fragility could have been the result of stress induced by the high ambient temperature during the dry season, or higher metabolic rate associated with lactic acid accumulation, which has been shown to increase erythrocyte osmotic fragility.

A Novel Neuraminidase-Dependent Hemagglutinin Cleavage Mechanism Enables the Systemic Spread of an H7N6 Avian Influenza Virus

ABSTRACT In this study, we demonstrate a novel mechanism for hemagglutinin (HA) activation in a naturally occurring H7N6 avian influenza A virus strain, A/mallard duck/Korea/6L/2007 (A/Mdk/6L/07). This novel mechanism allows for systemic infection of chickens, ducks, and mice, and A/Mdk/6L/07 can replicate in vitro without exogenous trypsin and exhibits broad tissue tropism in animals despite the presence of a monobasic HA cleavage motif (PEIPKGR/G). The trypsin-independent growth phenotype requires the N6 neuraminidase and the specific recognition of glycine at the P2 position of the HA cleavage motif by a thrombin-like protease. Correspondingly, viral growth is significantly attenuated by the addition of a thrombin-like protease inhibitor (argatroban). These data provide evidence for a previously unrecognized virus replication mechanism and support the hypothesis that thrombin-mediated HA cleavage is an important virulence marker and potential therapeutic target for H7 influenza viruses. IMPORTANCE The identification of virulence markers in influenza viruses underpins risk assessment programs and the development of novel therapeutics. The cleavage of the influenza virus HA is a required step in the viral life cycle, and phenotypic differences in viruses can be caused by changes in this process. Here, we describe a novel mechanism for HA cleavage in an H7N6 influenza virus isolated from a mallard duck. The mechanism requires the N6 protein and full activity of thrombin-like proteases and allows the virus to cause systemic infection in chickens, ducks, and mice. The thrombin-mediated cleavage of HA is thus a novel virulence determinant of avian influenza viruses.