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Williams RAJ, Sánchez-Llatas CJ, Doménech A, Madrid R, Fandiño S, Cea-Callejo P, Gomez-Lucia E, Benítez L. Emerging and Novel Viruses in Passerine Birds. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2355. [PMID: 37764199 PMCID: PMC10536639 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11092355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
There is growing interest in emerging viruses that can cause serious or lethal disease in humans and animals. The proliferation of cloacal virome studies, mainly focused on poultry and other domestic birds, reveals a wide variety of viruses, although their pathogenic significance is currently uncertain. Analysis of viruses detected in wild birds is complex and often biased towards waterfowl because of the obvious interest in avian influenza or other zoonotic viruses. Less is known about the viruses present in the order Passeriformes, which comprises approximately 60% of extant bird species. This review aims to compile the most significant contributions on the DNA/RNA viruses affecting passerines, from traditional and metagenomic studies. It highlights that most passerine species have never been sampled. Especially the RNA viruses from Flaviviridae, Orthomyxoviridae and Togaviridae are considered emerging because of increased incidence or avian mortality/morbidity, spread to new geographical areas or hosts and their zoonotic risk. Arguably poxvirus, and perhaps other virus groups, could also be considered "emerging viruses". However, many of these viruses have only recently been described in passerines using metagenomics and their role in the ecosystem is unknown. Finally, it is noteworthy that only one third of the viruses affecting passerines have been officially recognized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A. J. Williams
- Department of Genetics, Physiology, and Microbiology, School of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), C. de José Antonio Nováis, 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.J.S.-L.); (R.M.); (P.C.-C.); (L.B.)
- “Animal Viruses” Research Group, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.D.); (S.F.); (E.G.-L.)
| | - Christian J. Sánchez-Llatas
- Department of Genetics, Physiology, and Microbiology, School of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), C. de José Antonio Nováis, 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.J.S.-L.); (R.M.); (P.C.-C.); (L.B.)
| | - Ana Doménech
- “Animal Viruses” Research Group, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.D.); (S.F.); (E.G.-L.)
- Deparment of Animal Health, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, Av. Puerta de Hierro, s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Madrid
- Department of Genetics, Physiology, and Microbiology, School of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), C. de José Antonio Nováis, 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.J.S.-L.); (R.M.); (P.C.-C.); (L.B.)
- “Animal Viruses” Research Group, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.D.); (S.F.); (E.G.-L.)
| | - Sergio Fandiño
- “Animal Viruses” Research Group, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.D.); (S.F.); (E.G.-L.)
- Deparment of Animal Health, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, Av. Puerta de Hierro, s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Cea-Callejo
- Department of Genetics, Physiology, and Microbiology, School of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), C. de José Antonio Nováis, 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.J.S.-L.); (R.M.); (P.C.-C.); (L.B.)
- “Animal Viruses” Research Group, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.D.); (S.F.); (E.G.-L.)
| | - Esperanza Gomez-Lucia
- “Animal Viruses” Research Group, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.D.); (S.F.); (E.G.-L.)
- Deparment of Animal Health, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, Av. Puerta de Hierro, s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Benítez
- Department of Genetics, Physiology, and Microbiology, School of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), C. de José Antonio Nováis, 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (C.J.S.-L.); (R.M.); (P.C.-C.); (L.B.)
- “Animal Viruses” Research Group, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; (A.D.); (S.F.); (E.G.-L.)
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MacDonald AM, Johnson JB, Casalena MJ, Nemeth NM, Kunkel M, Blake M, Brown JD. Active and passive disease surveillance in wild turkeys (
Meleagris gallopavo
) from 2008 to 2018 in Pennsylvania, USA. WILDLIFE SOC B 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/wsb.1289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M. MacDonald
- Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph 419 Gordon Street Guelph ON N1G 2W1 Canada
| | - Joshua B. Johnson
- Pennsylvania Game Commission, 2001 Elmerton Avenue Harrisburg PA 17110‐9797 USA
| | - Mary Jo Casalena
- Pennsylvania Game Commission, 2001 Elmerton Avenue Harrisburg PA 17110‐9797 USA
| | - Nicole M. Nemeth
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, University of Georgia, 589 D. W. Brooks Drive Athens GA 30602 USA
| | - Melanie Kunkel
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, University of Georgia, 589 D. W. Brooks Drive Athens GA 30602 USA
| | - Mitchell Blake
- National Wild Turkey Federation, 770 Augusta Road, Edgefield, SC 29824 USA
| | - Justin D. Brown
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Pennsylvania State University, 115 Henning Building, University Park PA 16802 USA
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McGraw K, Penha VADS, Drake D, Kraberger S, Varsani A. Poxvirus infection in house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus): genome sequence analysis and patterns of infection in wild birds. Transbound Emerg Dis 2022; 69:e2318-e2328. [PMID: 35488713 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.14575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Poxviruses (family: Poxviridae) infect many avian species, causing several disease outcomes, the most common of which are proliferative lesions on the legs, feet and/or head. Few avian studies of poxvirus to date have combined molecular and ecological analyses to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the identity and distribution of the disease in a population. Here we describe patterns of poxvirus infection in an urban population of house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) in Arizona (USA) and use high-throughput sequencing determine the genome sequence of the virus. We found that poxvirus prevalence, based on visual identification of pox lesions, was 7.2% (17 infected birds out of a total of 235 sampled) in our population during summer 2021. Disease severity was low; 14 of the 17 infected birds had a single small lesion on the skin overlaying the eye, leg and ear canal. All but two lesions were found on the feet; one bird had a lesion on the eye and the other in the ear opening. We also investigated possible temporal (i.e., date of capture) and biological correlates (e.g., age, sex, body condition, degree of infection with coccidian endoparasites) of poxvirus infection in urban-caught house finches during this time but found that none of these significantly correlated with poxvirus presence/absence. Two complete poxvirus genomes were determined from two infected birds. These genomes are ∼354,000 bp and share 99.7% similarity with each other, and 82% with a canarypox virus genome, the most closely related avipoxvirus. This novel finchpox virus is the first to be reported in house finches and has a similar genome organization to other avipoxviruses. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin McGraw
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Victor Aguiar de Souza Penha
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Dean Drake
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Simona Kraberger
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Arvind Varsani
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.,Structural Biology Research Unit, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa
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Outbreaks of Avipoxvirus Clade E in Vaccinated Broiler Breeders with Exacerbated Beak Injuries and Sex Differences in Severity. Viruses 2022; 14:v14040773. [PMID: 35458503 PMCID: PMC9028998 DOI: 10.3390/v14040773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Avipoxvirus affects chickens and wild birds, and it is characterized by lesions on the nonfeathered parts of the body (the cutaneous form), or necrotic lesions in the upper respiratory tract (the diphtheritic form). In poultry farming, avian pox is usually controlled by live attenuated vaccines. However, there have been many reports of outbreaks, even in flocks of vaccinated birds. In the present study, different outbreaks of the emerging clade E avipoxvirus were detected in commercial breeder flocks of chickens vaccinated against fowlpox virus in Southeast Brazil. Clinical manifestations of these outbreaks included a marked prevalence of moderate to severe progressive lesions in the beaks of affected birds, especially in roosters with increased mortality (up to 8.48%). Also, a reduced hatchability (up to 20.77% fewer hatching eggs) was observed in these flocks. Analysis of clinical samples through light and transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of Bollinger bodies and poxvirus particles in epithelial cells and affecting chondrocytes. PCR, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis of major core protein (P4b) and DNA polymerase (pol) genes identified this virus as clade E avipoxvirus. We also developed qPCR assays for open reading frames (ORFs) 49, 114, and 159 to detect and quantify this emergent virus. These results show the arrival and initial spread of this pathogen in the poultry industry, which was associated with harmful outbreaks and exacerbated clinical manifestations in vaccinated commercial breeder flocks. This study also highlights the relevance of permanent vigilance and the need to improve sanitary and vaccination programs.
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Bertelloni F, Ceccherelli R, Marzoni M, Poli A, Ebani VV. Molecular Detection of Avipoxvirus in Wild Birds in Central Italy. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12030338. [PMID: 35158662 PMCID: PMC8833646 DOI: 10.3390/ani12030338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Avipoxviruses (APVs) are responsible for diseases in domestic and wild birds. Currently, the disease in domestic animals is under control in many Countries by biosafety and vaccination. In wild birds, small disease events are frequently reported worldwide, but large outbreaks are generally rare. Nevertheless, some aspects of the epidemiology of these viruses are still unclear. In this study, we explored, through molecular investigations, the diffusion of APVs among wild birds, of different orders and species, without typical macroscopic lesions. A high percentage (43.33%) of positive specimens was detected, suggesting high diffusion of the viruses and a possible role of avian wildlife as a reservoir. Aquatic birds, mainly Anseriformes, were more often infected, probably in relation to the environment where they live; in fact, APVs are frequently transmitted by mosquitos, particularly abundant in humid areas. Abstract Avipoxviruses (APVs) are important pathogens of both domestic and wild birds. The associated disease is characterized by skin proliferative lesions in the cutaneous form or by lesions of the first digestive and respiratory tracts in the diphtheritic form. Previous studies investigated these infections in symptomatic wild birds worldwide, including Italy, but data about the circulation of APVs in healthy avian wildlife are not available. The present study tested spleen samples from 300 wild birds without typical lesions to detect Avipoxvirus DNA. Overall, 43.33% of the samples scored positive. Aquatic birds were more frequently infected (55.42%) than other animals (26.40%), and in Anseriformes, high positivity was found (52.87%). The obtained results suggest that wild birds could be asymptomatic carriers of Avipoxviruses, opening new possible epidemiological scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Bertelloni
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (M.M.); (A.P.)
| | | | - Margherita Marzoni
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (M.M.); (A.P.)
| | - Alessandro Poli
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (M.M.); (A.P.)
| | - Valentina Virginia Ebani
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (M.M.); (A.P.)
- Centre for Climate Change Impact, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Robinson CA, Dunn PA, Williams LM, Poulson RL, Miller EA, Brown HM, Brown JD. Characterization of Avian Pox in a Ruffed Grouse ( Bonasa umbellus) from Pennsylvania. Avian Dis 2021; 65:453-455. [PMID: 34699142 DOI: 10.1637/0005-2086-65.3.453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
A free-ranging, adult male ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) was harvested by a hunter during November 2019 in Forest County, PA. The bird was submitted for necropsy due to a skin mass on its left leg. Upon necropsy, two proliferative skin masses were grossly visible, one on the left leg and one on the cere. An additional mass was present on the oropharyngeal mucosa covering the hard palate. These masses were diagnosed as avian pox based on histopathologic and cytologic findings, including marked epithelial hypertrophy, hyperplasia, vacuolar degeneration with eosinophilic stippling, and intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies. An avipoxvirus was detected using PCR and was identified as fowlpox virus through sequencing of the 4b core gene segment. The avipoxvirus from this case showed genetic similarity to isolates from Eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris).
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Affiliation(s)
- Corissa A Robinson
- Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Patricia A Dunn
- Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | | | | | - Erica A Miller
- Wildlife Futures Program, University of Pennsylvania, Kennett Square, PA 19348
| | | | - Justin D Brown
- College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802,
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Abstract
Avian pox is a widespread infection in birds caused by genus Avipoxvirus pathogens. It is a noteworthy, potentially lethal disease to wild and domestic hosts. It can produce two different conditions: cutaneous pox, and diphtheritic pox. Here, we carry out an exhaustive review of all cases of avian pox reported from wild birds to analyze the effect and distribution in different avian species. Avian poxvirus strains have been detected in at least 374 wild bird species, a 60% increase on a 1999 review on avian pox hosts. We also analyze epizootic cases and if this disease contributes to wild bird population declines. We frequently observe very high prevalence in wild birds in remote island groups, e.g., Hawaii, Galapagos, etc., representing a major risk for the conservation of their unique endemic avifauna. However, the difference in prevalence between islands and continents is not significant given the few available studies. Morbidity and mortality can also be very high in captive birds, due to high population densities. However, despite the importance of the disease, the current detection rate of new Avipoxvirus strains suggests that diversity is incomplete for this group, and more research is needed to clarify its real extent, particularly in wild birds.
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