title: Molecular Characterization of Subtype H11N9 Avian Influenza Virus Isolated from Shorebirds in Brazil.
abstract: Migratory aquatic birds play an important role in the maintenance and spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV). Many species of aquatic migratory birds tend to use similar migration routes, also known as flyways, which serve as important circuits for the dissemination of AIV. In recent years there has been extensive surveillance of the virus in aquatic birds in the Northern Hemisphere; however in contrast only a few studies have been attempted to detect AIV in wild birds in South America. There are major flyways connecting South America to Central and North America, whereas avian migration routes between South America and the remaining continents are uncommon. As a result, it has been hypothesized that South American AIV strains would be most closely related to the strains from North America than to those from other regions in the world. We characterized the full genome of three AIV subtype H11N9 isolates obtained from ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres) on the Amazon coast of Brazil. For all gene segments, all three strains consistently clustered together within evolutionary lineages of AIV that had been previously described from aquatic birds in North America. In particular, the H11N9 isolates were remarkably closely related to AIV strains from shorebirds sampled at the Delaware Bay region, on the Northeastern coast of the USA, more than 5000 km away from where the isolates were retrieved. Additionally, there was also evidence of genetic similarity to AIV strains from ducks and teals from interior USA and Canada. These findings corroborate that migratory flyways of aquatic birds play an important role in determining the genetic structure of AIV in the Western hemisphere, with a strong epidemiological connectivity between North and South America.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.|Laboratory Biosafety Level 3+, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hurtado
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fabrizio
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Wildlife Comparative Pathology, Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ralph Eric Thijl
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Vanstreels
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Webby
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Biosafety Level 3+, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Edison Luiz
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Durigon
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002170:Canada; D046091:Charadriiformes / Q000821:virology*; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny