tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Emerg Infect Dis
. 2025 Jul 16;31(8).
doi: 10.3201/eid3108.241456. Online ahead of print.
Multidisciplinary Tracking of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Outbreak in Griffon Vultures, Southern Europe, 2022
Julien Hirschinger, Ursula Höfle, Alberto Sánchez-Cano, Claire Guinat, Guillaume Croville, Marta Barral, José Antonio Donázar, Chloé Le Gall Ladevèze, Mathilda Walch, Vega Alvarez, Xeider Gerrikagoitia, Louis Du Plessis, Simon Dellicour, Eneko Arrondo, José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata, Ainara Cortés-Avizanda, Sara Minayo Martín, Jérémy Tornos, Samuel Perret, Thierry Boulinier, Pascal Orabi, Anne Van De Wiele, Jean Luc Guerin, Olivier Duriez, Guillaume Le Loc'h
Since 2021, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b virus has affected wild bird populations globally. Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus), a species hitherto considered unexposed, experienced an HPAI H5N1 outbreak in 2022 in southern Europe, leading to moderate mortality and reduced breeding success. The integration of virological, serologic, phylogenetic, and ecologic data revealed a short yet intense viral circulation and a probable common source of infection. The dissemination across Spain and France was likely caused by frequent interpopulation movements of birds. This integrated overview of the 2022 HPAI outbreak in vultures provides novel insights into the role of large-scale movements of wild birds in the spread of such disease. Understanding the epidemiologic dynamics of HPAI H5N1 in these scavenger species is crucial because the birds play vital roles in ecosystem functioning. Their susceptibility to this virus highlights potential broader ecologic effects of the ongoing outbreaks.
Keywords: France; Griffon vultures; Gyps fulvus; H5N1; Spain; clade 2.3.4.4b; ecology; highly pathogenic avian influenza A; phylogeny; respiratory infections; serology; southern Europe; virology; viruses; zoonoses.
. 2025 Jul 16;31(8).
doi: 10.3201/eid3108.241456. Online ahead of print.
Multidisciplinary Tracking of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Outbreak in Griffon Vultures, Southern Europe, 2022
Julien Hirschinger, Ursula Höfle, Alberto Sánchez-Cano, Claire Guinat, Guillaume Croville, Marta Barral, José Antonio Donázar, Chloé Le Gall Ladevèze, Mathilda Walch, Vega Alvarez, Xeider Gerrikagoitia, Louis Du Plessis, Simon Dellicour, Eneko Arrondo, José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata, Ainara Cortés-Avizanda, Sara Minayo Martín, Jérémy Tornos, Samuel Perret, Thierry Boulinier, Pascal Orabi, Anne Van De Wiele, Jean Luc Guerin, Olivier Duriez, Guillaume Le Loc'h
- PMID: 40669842
- DOI: 10.3201/eid3108.241456
Since 2021, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b virus has affected wild bird populations globally. Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus), a species hitherto considered unexposed, experienced an HPAI H5N1 outbreak in 2022 in southern Europe, leading to moderate mortality and reduced breeding success. The integration of virological, serologic, phylogenetic, and ecologic data revealed a short yet intense viral circulation and a probable common source of infection. The dissemination across Spain and France was likely caused by frequent interpopulation movements of birds. This integrated overview of the 2022 HPAI outbreak in vultures provides novel insights into the role of large-scale movements of wild birds in the spread of such disease. Understanding the epidemiologic dynamics of HPAI H5N1 in these scavenger species is crucial because the birds play vital roles in ecosystem functioning. Their susceptibility to this virus highlights potential broader ecologic effects of the ongoing outbreaks.
Keywords: France; Griffon vultures; Gyps fulvus; H5N1; Spain; clade 2.3.4.4b; ecology; highly pathogenic avian influenza A; phylogeny; respiratory infections; serology; southern Europe; virology; viruses; zoonoses.