Evidence for West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus Infections in Wild and Resident Birds in Germany, 2017 and 2018.

Wild birds play an important role as reservoir hosts and vectors for zoonotic arboviruses and foster their spread. Usutu virus (USUV) has been circulating endemically in Germany since 2011, while West Nile virus (WNV) was first diagnosed in several bird species and horses in 2018. In 2017 and 2018, we screened 1709 live wild and zoo birds with real-time polymerase chain reaction and serological assays. Moreover, organ samples from bird carcasses submitted in 2017 were investigated. Overall, 57 blood samples of the live birds (2017 and 2018), and 100 organ samples of dead birds (2017) were positive for USUV-RNA, while no WNV-RNA-positive sample was found. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the first detection of USUV lineage Europe 2 in Germany and the spread of USUV lineages Europe 3 and Africa 3 towards Northern Germany. USUV antibody prevalence rates were high in Eastern Germany in both years. On the contrary, in Northern Germany, high seroprevalence rates were first detected in 2018, with the first emergence of USUV in this region. Interestingly, high WNV-specific neutralizing antibody titers were observed in resident and short-distance migratory birds in Eastern Germany in 2018, indicating the first signs of a local WNV circulation.

Historical analysis of the type species of the genus Trichobilharzia Skrjabin et Zakharov, 1920 (Platyhelminthes: Schistosomatidae).

Trichobilharzia Skrjabin & Zakharov, 1920 is known as the most species-rich genus of the blood fluke family Schistosomatidae. To date, more than 40 species have been described, even though validity of some of them is questionable (Horák et al. 2002). Members of the genus use various birds as final hosts, but they attract attention mostly as causative agents of hypersensitive skin reaction (cercarial dermatitis or swimmer's itch) in mammals including humans. As this is one of the.

Ancient horizontal transfers of retrotransposons between birds and ancestors of human pathogenic nematodes.

Parasite host switches may trigger disease emergence, but prehistoric host ranges are often unknowable. Lymphatic filariasis and loiasis are major human diseases caused by the insect-borne filarial nematodes Brugia, Wuchereria and Loa. Here we show that the genomes of these nematodes and seven tropical bird lineages exclusively share a novel retrotransposon, AviRTE, resulting from horizontal transfer (HT). AviRTE subfamilies exhibit 83-99% nucleotide identity between genomes, and their phylogenetic distribution, paleobiogeography and invasion times suggest that HTs involved filarial nematodes. The HTs between bird and nematode genomes took place in two pantropical waves, >25-22 million years ago (Myr ago) involving the Brugia/Wuchereria lineage and >20-17 Myr ago involving the Loa lineage. Contrary to the expectation from the mammal-dominated host range of filarial nematodes, we hypothesize that these major human pathogens may have independently evolved from bird endoparasites that formerly infected the global breadth of avian biodiversity.

Circulation of avian paramyxoviruses in wild birds of Kazakhstan in 2002-2013.

BACKGROUND: Screening wild birds for avian paramyxoviruses is of increasing importance. 6913 samples of tracheal and cloacal swabs were collected during 2002-2013 and tested to study the prevalence of APMVs in wild avifauna of Kazakhstan. As a result, 45 isolates were obtained during this period and their ecological niches and genetic relationships were defined. METHODS: Tracheal and cloacal samples from wild birds were collected using sterile swabs placed in viral transport medium and kept in liquid nitrogen until delivery to the laboratory. Samples were inoculated into 10-day-old embryonated chicken eggs and reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assays were performed via a one-step protocol. The PCR products were sequenced and phylogenetic trees were constructed using the 'Neighbour Joining' method. RESULTS: Six thousand nine hundred thirteen samples from 183 bird species were investigated and 45 isolates belonging to four different serotypes APMV-1, APMV-4, APMV-6 and APMV-8 were identified. All APMVs were isolated predominantly from birds belonging to Anatidae family (ducks and geese) and only one APMV-4 isolate was obtained from shorebird (Curlew) on the Caspian seashore. Genetic studies showed that the recovered APMV-1 strains had highest homology with European isolates. APMV-4 strains isolated in 2003, and APMV-6 and APMV-8 isolated in 2013 were 99 % identical to isolates from Far East. CONCLUSION: This is the first reported characterization of avian paramyxoviruses from wild birds isolated in Kazakhstan. These data confirm the wide distribution of APMV-1, APMV-4 and APMV-6 in the Asian subcontinent. The obtained data contribute to the accumulation of knowledge on the genetic diversity and prevalence of APMVs in wild bird populations.

Prevalence of and risk factors for coccidiosis in kiwi between 1977 and 2011.

AIMS: To identify risk factors associated with coccidiosis in kiwi (Apteryx spp.) using a retrospective analysis of historical data from kiwi examined post-mortem, and to determine the prevalence of coccidial oocysts in the droppings of wild and captive kiwi. METHODS: Necropsy reports were examined from kiwi submitted to the National Wildlife Mortality Database of New Zealand (Huia) between February 1977 and May 2011. All cases that reported histological examination of one or more hepatic, intestinal or renal tissues were included in the study (n=372). Data collated for analysis included the presence or absence of coccidiosis in one or more tissues, age, host species, habitat, and season of submission. Fisher's exact test was used to determine the association between each independent variable and the prevalence of coccidiosis. Droppings opportunistically collected from wild and captive kiwi between January 2008 and June 2010 were also examined for the presence of coccidial oocysts. RESULTS: Coccidiosis was evident in 47/372 (12.6%) kiwi examined post-mortem and was considered the primary cause of death in 12/47 (26%) infected cases. Examination of 412 droppings from wild and captive kiwi collected over a 29-month period revealed that 98 (23.8%) samples contained coccidia at the time of sampling. Enteric (n=27) coccidiosis was the most common form diagnosed using histology, followed by renal (n=19) and hepatic (n=11), with splenic (n=2) and pulmonary (n=1) infections infrequently seen. Many kiwi demonstrated infections in multiple tissues. The prevalence of coccidiosis was greater in juvenile kiwi (36/148, 24.3%) than adults (8/133, 6.0%) or chicks (2/83, 2.4%) (p<0.001), although there was no difference in mortality between age groups. Season of year was also associated with overall prevalence (p=0.05), with most cases being diagnosed in the autumn and winter. Coccidiosis was histologically evident in four of five species of kiwi examined, and in all host species upon analysis of droppings. Host species or habitat (captive vs. wild) did not influence the prevalence of disease detected histologically. CONCLUSIONS: Age and season were the only factors that influenced the prevalence of coccidiosis in kiwi in this study. Coccidiosis was present in all species of kiwi, and this is the first report of coccidiosis in rowi (Apteryx rowi).

A prepared mind--Ernest Edward Tyzzer's legacy of research into avian diseases.

Ernest Edward Tyzzer (1875-1965) was a physician, specializing at first (1902-1916) in cancer research and then from 1916 as a parasitologist. He was born of English parents in Wakefield, Massachusetts, where he lived all his life. Educated in Wakefield public schools, Brown University (Ph.B., A.M., Hon. Sc.D.), and Harvard University (M.D.), he established during his 40-yr career (1902-1942) an international reputation in oncology, pathology, virology, bacteriology, parasitology, and taxonomic zoology in relation to human and veterinary medicine. His contributions to knowledge of avian diseases were outstanding and wide-ranging. Seminal work included: new descriptions of tumors in chickens; the first record of Cryptosporidium in birds; studies on the biology, morphology, in vitro culture, and epizootiology of the blackhead (histomonosis) parasite and its reclassification under a new genus Histomonas; descriptions of eight new taxa of amebae and flagellates in chickens, turkeys, and ruffed grouse; descriptions of seven new species of Eimeria in chickens, turkeys, pheasants, and quail as well as studies on their biology, immunogenicity, virulence, and epizootiology; a description of the trematode Collyriclum in English sparrows; the first record of mycosis in ruffed grouse; the recognition of birds as a source of equine encephalomyelitis infections of humans; the first American record of infectious sinusitis in turkeys and discovery of a curative treatment; and studies of Newcastle disease and avian influenza during the war research program of the 1940s. Application of Tyzzer's histomonosis research to farm practice saved the Massachusetts turkey industry from extinction in the 1920s and significantly influenced the recovery of turkey farming nationally.

Paleoparasitological analysis of a raptor pellet from southern Patagonia.

Organic remains attributable to one regurgitated pellet were examined. The pellet, belonging to a bird of prey and collected from a cave of Southern Patagonia, was dated at 6,540 +/- 110 yr. With standard paleoparasitological procedures, eggs of Capillaria sp. and a mite, Demodex sp., were found. The parasites found in the pellet belong to a rodent ingested by the bird. The present report constitutes the first paleoparasitological study of a regurgitated pellet.

[Contribution to the history of avian plagues]. / Contribution a l'histoire des pestes aviaires.

Avian influenza is a contagious disease of birds widely spread in wild fowl (namely ducks) and most feared in domestic birds, which may be infected with the highly pathogenic strains of the virus (HPAI). Some mammals, including human beings, may also be affected and die. Specific tools for the diagnosis of HPAI were not available before 1955, but since then more than 25 outbreaks were reported throughout the world, with an unusual incidence in Asia and Europe after 2003. However, before 1955 and since the Antiquity, numerous important outbreaks have been reported in Europe in domestic or wild birds, with high morbidity and mortality rates. Such outbreaks involved either poultry (including domestic geese or ducks) or wild birds (water fowl or land fowl). As far as the latter were concerned, some authors of the Middle-Ages attributed the large-scale deaths of birds to pitched battles between different avian species. Many details are given on the places and dates of these outbreaks, as well as on their epidemiological features. The author recalls the need for strengthening the surveillance and control of HPAI to minimize any risk of pandemic following a genetic re-assortment of avian and human influenza viruses.

Control of avian encephalomyelitis: a historical account.

Avian encephalomyelitis control methods were not developed until the 1950s although the disease had been discovered and described over 20 yr earlier. Inability to transmit the infection by other than intracerebral inoculation, lack of suitable immunologic methods, the unknowing use of immune chickens or embryos for experimental studies, and reliance on a highly adapted strain of virus rather than fresh field isolates were the main reasons for a general lack of progress. In the absence of supportive experimental data, at least two commercial breeding organizations turned to the use of a crude chicken brain-propagated virus for vaccination of breeder replacement flocks in the 1950s. This control procedure turned out to be practical and efficacious. Development of suitable embryo infection methods and immunologic tests and the chance finding that antibody-free flocks were essential for experimental studies led to the development of embryo-susceptibility tests to identify immune breeder flocks and formed the basis for another commercially applied control program, the testing and selection of only immune flocks for hatching purposes. The application of the new testing methods coupled with a switch from the adapted Van Roekel strain of virus to fresh field isolates for experimentation resulted in a rapid unraveling of the epizootiology and pathogenesis of the disease and also to the development of a safe and effective vaccine that was licensed for administration to breeder replacements in 1962.

Unravelling the ecology of influenza A virus.

For 20 years after the influenza A virus was discovered in the early 1930s, it was believed to be almost exclusively a human virus. But in the 1950s closely related viruses were discovered in diseases of horses, pigs and birds. Subsequently influenza A viruses were found to occur frequently in many species of birds, particularly ducks, usually without causing disease. Researchers showed that human and animal strains can hybridise thus producing new strains. Such hybrids may be the cause of pandemics in man. Most pandemics have started in China or eastern Russia where many people are in intimate association with animals. This situation provides a breeding ground for new strains of influenza A virus.