title: The role of wild birds in the spread of influenza viruses.
abstract: Eggs deposited by different migrating wild bird species in pond farm areas in Hungary were examined for yolk antibodies to different variants of human A/H3N2 influenza virus. Antibodies to Victoria/75 and Texas/77 occurred in 17.9 and 32.0% of gull eggs, and 5.6 and 16.4% of common tern eggs, respectively, while antibodies to A/H1N1/77 occurred in roughly similar proportions (10.2 and 13.4%) in the eggs of both species. Infection of the gull and tern populations of given areas by human and avian influenza A viruses differed greatly in two consecutive hatching periods. While in 1978 7.6 and 1.1% of the gull and tern eggs, respectively, contained antibodies to the avian subtype Havl, no such antibodies were found in 1977. Subtype A/H3N2/Texas/77 virus was isolated from adult gulls and 1-3 weeks old gull chicks, and subtype H1N1 virus from mallard ducks. Three months before the onset of the Texas/77 epidemic, 95% of SPF chickens, and 71-81% of chickens hatched 3 months after termination of the A/H1N1/77 epidemic, had had HI, VN and SRH antibodies to the Texas/77 strain and A/H1N1/77 strains, respectively.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D001717:Birds / Q000382:microbiology*; D006814:Hungary; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral