title: Experimental infection and pathology of clade 2.2 H5N1 virus in gulls.
abstract: During 2006, H5N1 HPAI caused an epizootic in wild birds, resulting in a die-off of Laridae in the Novosibirsk region at Chany Lake. In the present study, we infected common gulls (Larus canus) with a high dose of the H5N1 HPAI virus isolated from a common gull to determine if severe disease could be induced over the 28 day experimental period. Moderate clinical signs including diarrhea, conjunctivitis, respiratory distress and neurological signs were observed in virus-inoculated birds, and 50% died. The most common microscopic lesions observed were necrosis of the pancreas, mild encephalitis, mild myocarditis, liver parenchymal hemorrhages, lymphocytic hepatitis, parabronchi lumen hemorrhages and interstitial pneumonia. High viral titers were shed from the oropharyngeal route and virus was still detected in one bird at 25 days after infection. In the cloaca, the virus was detected sporadically in lower titers. The virus was transmitted to direct contact gulls. Thus, infected gulls can pose a significant risk of H5N1 HPAIV transmission to other wild migratory waterfowl and pose a risk to more susceptible poultry species. These findings have important implications regarding the mode of transmission and potential risks of H5N1 HPAI spread by gulls.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
authors.forename: Marina A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gulyaeva
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.|Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630117, Russia.
authors.forename: Kirill A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Sharshov
authors.affiliation: State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology "Vector", Novosibirsk 630559, Russia.
authors.forename: Anna V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Zaykovskaia
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
authors.forename: Lidia V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Shestopalova
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.|Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630117, Russia.
authors.forename: Aleksander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Shestopalov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D046091:Charadriiformes; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000502:physiology*; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D009017:Morbidity; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D017201:Virus Shedding
keywords: H5N1 virus; clade 2.2; experimental infection; pathogenicity