title: Extended transmission of two H5/H7 low pathogenic avian influenza viruses in chickens.
abstract: Transmission experiments are useful for investigating the mechanisms of low pathogenic notifiable avian influenza virus (LPNAI) transmission. In this study, the hypothesis that inoculation-infected chickens are more infectious than contact-infected chickens was tested. To this end, extended transmission experiments with one H5N2 and one H7N1 LPAIV which had previously been characterized in a series of standard transmission experiments were conducted in specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens. For the H5N2 LPAIV, the infectivity of contact-infected chickens was similar to the infectivity of inoculated chickens. Despite results from a previous study suggesting the H7N1 LPAIV strain to be similarly infectious to SPF chickens as the H5N2 LPAIV strain, the acquisition of contact-infected chickens proved more difficult for H7N1 LPAIV. It was assumed that this might have been a consequence of the length and timing of the exposure period. In conclusion, for LPNAIVs that first seemed equally infectious, short-term transmissibility may vary considerably.
authors.affiliation: Avian Virology & Immunology Unit,Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre,Groeselenberg, Brussels,Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Claes
authors.affiliation: Avian Virology & Immunology Unit,Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre,Groeselenberg, Brussels,Belgium.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lambrecht
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Epidemiology Unit, Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,Ghent University,Merelbeke,Belgium.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dewulf
authors.affiliation: Avian Virology & Immunology Unit,Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre,Groeselenberg, Brussels,Belgium.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: van den Berg
authors.affiliation: Avian Virology & Immunology Unit,Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre,Groeselenberg, Brussels,Belgium.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marché
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000821:virology*; D053125:Influenza A Virus, H5N2 Subtype / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D057916:Influenza A Virus, H7N1 Subtype / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D017201:Virus Shedding
keywords: reproduction ratio