Disentangling the role of poultry farms and wild birds in the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Europe.

ABSTRACT: In winter 2016-7, Europe was severely hit by an unprecedented epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs), causing a significant impact on animal health, wildlife conservation, and livestock economic sustainability. By applying phylodynamic tools to virus sequences collected during the epidemic, we investigated when the first infections occurred, how many infections were unreported, which factors influenced virus spread, and how many spillover events occurred. HPAIV was likely introduced into poultry farms during the autumn, in line with the timing of wild birds' migration. In Germany, Hungary, and Poland, the epidemic was dominated by farm-to-farm transmission, showing that understanding of how farms are connected would greatly help control efforts. In the Czech Republi

SUBMITTER: Guinat C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9752641 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature