Movements of birds and avian influenza from Asia into Alaska.
Asian-origin avian influenza (AI) viruses are spread in part by migratory birds. In Alaska, diverse avian hosts from Asia and the Americas overlap in a region of intercontinental avifaunal mixing. This region is hypothesized to be a zone of Asia-to-America virus transfer because birds there can mingle in waters contaminated by wild-bird-origin AI viruses. Our 7 years of AI virus surveillance among waterfowl and shorebirds in this region (1998-2004; 8,254 samples) showed remarkably low infection rates (0.06%). Our findings suggest an Arctic effect on viral ecology, caused perhaps by low ecosystem productivity and low host densities relative to available water. Combined with a synthesis of avian diversity and abundance, intercontinental host movements, and genetic analyses, our results suggest that the risk and probably the frequency of intercontinental virus transfer in this region are relatively low.
Winker
Kevin
K
University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA. ffksw@uaf.edu
McCracken
Kevin G
KG
Gibson
Daniel D
DD
Pruett
Christin L
CL
Meier
Rose
R
Huettmann
Falk
F
Wege
Michael
M
Kulikova
Irina V
IV
Zhuravlev
Yuri N
YN
Perdue
Michael L
ML
Spackman
Erica
E
Suarez
David L
DL
Swayne
David E
DE
D000413:Alaska / Q000453:epidemiology; D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology; D046090:Anseriformes / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology