title: Isolation of mixed subtypes of influenza A virus from a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
abstract: From April 2007 to March 2008, cloacal swabs were obtained from 246 casualty raptors recovered by various wildlife rehabilitation centers in the United States. The swabs were placed in a virus transport medium and transported to the laboratory on ice packs. At the laboratory, the samples were pooled with each pool consisting of five samples. All pools (n = 50) were screened for the presence of avian influenza virus (AIV) using a real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR); one of the pools was found positive. All five samples in this pool were tested individually by rRT-PCR; one sample from a bald eagle was found positive. This sample was inoculated in embryonated chicken eggs for virus isolation and a hemagglutinating virus was isolated. Complete genome sequencing of the isolate revealed a mixed infection with H1N1 and H2N1 subtypes. Further analysis revealed that the PB1-F2 gene sequence of H1N1 virus had the N66S virulence-associated substitution. Further studies on ecology and epidemiology of AIV in raptors are needed to help understand their role in the maintenance and evolution of AIV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA. goyal001@umn.edu
authors.forename: Sagar M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Goyal
authors.forename: Naresh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jindal
authors.forename: Yogesh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chander
authors.forename: Muthanan A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ramakrishnan
authors.forename: Patrick T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Redig
authors.forename: Srinand
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sreevatsan
mesh_terms: D019943:Amino Acid Substitution / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002988:Cloaca / Q000821:virology; D020307:Eagles / Q000821:virology*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014481:United States; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics; D014776:Virus Cultivation / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: C442816:PB1-F2 protein, Influenza A virus; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors