A novel and highly divergent Canine Distemper Virus lineage causing distemper in ferrets in Australia.

Canine distemper virus (CDV) causes a highly contagious systemic infection in an array of animal species. In this study we report an outbreak of distemper in ferrets in two research facilities in Australia, caused by a novel lineage of CDV. While the CDV strain caused mainly mild symptoms in ferrets, histopathology results presented a typical profile of distemper pathology, with multi-system virus replication. Through the development of a discriminatory PCR, paired with full genome sequencing, we revealed that the outbreak was caused by a novel lineage of CDV. The novel CDV lineage was highly divergent, with less than 93% similarity across the H gene to other described lineages, including the vaccine strain, and diverged approximately 140-400 years ago. Enhanced surveillance to determine the prevalence of CDV in ferrets, dogs and other at-risk species is critical to better understand the presence and diversity of CDV in Australia currently.

The Biosafety Level 4 Zoonotic Laboratory Network (BSL4ZNet): Report of a workshop on live animal handling.

The Biosafety Level 4 Zoonotic Laboratory Network (BSL4ZNet) was established in 2016, to provide a means of communication and support for the global high-containment laboratory community. Its working groups focus on international response, institutional cooperation and knowledge sharing, scientific excellence and training. In the latter role, BSL4ZNet sponsored its first international workshop in February 2018, held at the USDA National Centers for Animal Health, Ames, Iowa, USA, focused on necropsy procedures in high-containment laboratories. A second workshop, in November 2018, was held at the National Microbiology Laboratories (CFIA/PHAC) in Winnipeg, Canada, and focused on decontamination. A third workshop, held at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, Australia, in February 2019, was devoted to handling methods and ethical concerns for live animals in high-containment laboratories. The third workshop brought together 12 laboratorians from seven partner organizations in Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. It included both discussion-based and hands-on training sessions on animal welfare, animal models, site-specific infrastructure constraints, health monitoring and humane endpoints, sampling procedures, and carcass disposal. This report summarizes the inception, development, and structure of the BSL4ZNet, and highlights the aims and results of the Geelong workshop.

Correction: Persistence of Low Pathogenic Influenza A Virus in Water: A Systematic Review and Quantitative Meta-Analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161929.].

Persistence of Low Pathogenic Influenza A Virus in Water: A Systematic Review and Quantitative Meta-Analysis.

Avian influenza viruses are able to persist in the environment, in-between the transmission of the virus among its natural hosts. Quantifying the environmental factors that affect the persistence of avian influenza virus is important for influencing our ability to predict future outbreaks and target surveillance and control methods. We conducted a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis of the environmental factors that affect the decay of low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV) in water. Abiotic factors affecting the persistence of LPAIV have been investigated for nearly 40 years, yet published data was produced by only 26 quantitative studies. These studies have been conducted by a small number of principal authors (n = 17) and have investigated a narrow range of environmental conditions, all of which were based in laboratories with limited reflection of natural conditions. The use of quantitative meta-analytic techniques provided the opportunity to assess persistence across a greater range of conditions than each individual study can achieve, through the estimation of mean effect-sizes and relationships among multiple variables. Temperature was the most influential variable, for both the strength and magnitude of the effect-size. Moderator variables explained a large proportion of the heterogeneity among effect-sizes. Salinity and pH were important factors, although future work is required to broaden the range of abiotic factors examined, as well as including further diurnal variation and greater environmental realism generally. We were unable to extract a quantitative effect-size estimate for approximately half (50.4%) of the reported experimental outcomes and we strongly recommend a minimum set of quantitative reporting to be included in all studies, which will allow robust assimilation and analysis of future findings. In addition we suggest possible means of increasing the applicability of future studies to the natural environment, and evaluating the biological content of natural waterbodies.

Proposed Surveillance for Influenza A in Feral Pigs.

Pigs carry receptors for both avian- and human-adapted influenza viruses and have previously been proposed as a mixing and amplification vessel for influenza. Until now, there has been no investigation of influenza A viruses within feral pigs in Australia. We collected samples from feral pigs in Ramsar listed wetlands of South Australia and demonstrated positive antibodies to influenza A viruses. We propose feral pigs, and their control programs, as an available resource for future surveillance for influenza A viruses.