title: Avian influenza virus ecology in Iceland shorebirds: intercontinental reassortment and movement.
abstract: Shorebirds are a primary reservoir of avian influenza viruses (AIV). We conducted surveillance studies in Iceland shorebird populations for 3 years, documenting high serological evidence of AIV exposure in shorebirds, primarily in Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres; seroprevalence=75%). However, little evidence of virus infection was found in these shorebird populations and only two turnstone AIVs (H2N7; H5N1) were able to be phylogenetically examined. These analyses showed that viruses from Iceland shorebirds were primarily derived from Eurasian lineage viruses, yet the H2 hemagglutinin gene segment was from a North American lineage previously detected in a gull from Iceland the previous year. The H5N1 virus was determined to be low pathogenic, however the PB2 gene was closely related to the PB2 from highly pathogenic H5N1 isolates from China. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the turnstones were infected with at least one of these AIV while in Iceland and confirm Iceland as an important location where AIV from different continents interact and reassort, creating new virus genomes. Mounting data warrant continued surveillance for AIV in wild birds in the North Atlantic, including Canada, Greenland, and the northeast USA to determine the risks of new AI viruses and their intercontinental movement in this region.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI 53711, United States. Electronic address: jshall@usgs.gov.
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Gunnar Thor
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Hallgrimsson
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Population Medicine Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States.
authors.forename: Kamol
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suwannanarn
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Population Medicine Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States.
authors.forename: Srinand
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sreevatsen
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI 53711, United States.
authors.forename: Hon S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Ip
authors.affiliation: Southwest Iceland Nature Research Institute, Garðvegur 1, 245 Sandgerði, Iceland.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Magnusdottir
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI 53711, United States.
authors.forename: Joshua L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: TeSlaa
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI 53711, United States.
authors.forename: Sean W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Nashold
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI 53711, United States.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Dusek
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D046091:Charadriiformes / Q000821:virology*; D002988:Cloaca / Q000821:virology; D017753:Ecosystem; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D007055:Iceland; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Iceland; Influenza; Intercontinental; Movement; Reassortment; Shorebirds