Pathogenesis and transmissibility of highly (H7N1) and low (H7N9) pathogenic avian influenza virus infection in red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa)
Open Access
- 7 February 2011
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Veterinary Research
- Vol. 42 (1), 24
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1297-9716-42-24
Abstract
An experimental infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) and low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV) was carried out in red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) in order to study clinical signs, gross and microscopic lesions, and viral distribution in tissues and viral shedding. Birds were infected with a HPAIV subtype H7N1 (A/Chicken/Italy/5093/1999) and a LPAIV subtype H7N9 (A/Anas crecca/Spain/1460/2008). Uninoculated birds were included as contacts in both groups. In HPAIV infected birds, the first clinical signs were observed at 3 dpi, and mortality started at 4 dpi, reaching 100% at 8 dpi. The presence of viral antigen in tissues and viral shedding were confirmed by immunohistochemistry and quantitative real time RT-PCR (qRRT-PCR), respectively, in all birds infected with HPAIV. However, neither clinical signs nor histopathological findings were observed in LPAIV infected partridges. In addition, only short-term viral shedding together with seroconversion was detected in some LPAIV inoculated animals. The present study demonstrates that the red-legged partridge is highly susceptible to the H7N1 HPAIV strain, causing severe disease, mortality and abundant viral shedding and thus contributing to the spread of a potential local outbreak of this virus. In contrast, our results concerning H7N9 LPAIV suggest that the red-legged partridge is not a reservoir species for this virus.Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- The onset of virus shedding and clinical signs in chickens infected with high-pathogenicity and low-pathogenicity avian influenza virusesAvian Pathology, 2008
- Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1) Replication in Feathers of Domestic WaterfowlEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2008
- Global Patterns of Influenza A Virus in Wild BirdsScience, 2006
- Comparison of the Replication of Influenza A Viruses in Chinese Ring-Necked Pheasants and Chukar PartridgesJournal of Virology, 2006
- Susceptibility of North American Ducks and Gulls to H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza VirusesEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2006
- Avian influenza: recent developmentsAvian Pathology, 2004
- Comparative survey of the ectoparasite fauna of wild and farm-reared red-legged partridges ( Alectoris rufa ), with an ecological study in wild populationsZeitschrift für Parasitenkunde, 2004
- Land-Based Birds as Potential Disseminators of Avian/Mammalian Reassortant Influenza A VirusesAvian Diseases, 2003
- H7N1 avian influenza in Italy (1999 to 2000) in intensively reared chickens and turkeysAvian Pathology, 2000
- Pathological studies of chickens experimentally infected with two highly pathogenic avian influenza virusesAvian Pathology, 1996