tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Viruses
. 2024 Jul 16;16(7):1147.
doi: 10.3390/v16071147. Evaluating the Impact of Low-Pathogenicity Avian Influenza H6N1 Outbreaks in United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Poultry Farms during 2020
Michael J McMenamy[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Robyn McKenna[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Valerie B Bailie[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ben Cunningham[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adam Jeffers[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kelly McCullough[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Catherine Forsythe[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Laura Garza Cuartero[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Orla Flynn[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Christina Byrne[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Emily Connaghan[SUP] 3 [/SUP], John Moriarty[SUP] 3 [/SUP], June Fanning[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Stephanie Ronan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Damien Barrett[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Alice Fusaro[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Isabella Monne[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Calogero Terregino[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Joe James[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Alexander M P Byrne[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Fabian Z X Lean[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Alejandro Núñez[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Scott M Reid[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Rowena Hansen[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Ian H Brown[SUP] 6 8 [/SUP], Ashley C Banyard[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Ken Lemon[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
In January 2020, increased mortality was reported in a small broiler breeder flock in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Gross pathological findings included coelomitis, oophoritis, salpingitis, visceral gout, splenomegaly, and renomegaly. Clinical presentation included inappetence, pronounced diarrhoea, and increased egg deformation. These signs, in combination with increased mortality, triggered a notifiable avian disease investigation. High pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) was not suspected, as mortality levels and clinical signs were not consistent with HPAIV. Laboratory investigation demonstrated the causative agent to be a low-pathogenicity avian influenza virus (LPAIV), subtype H6N1, resulting in an outbreak that affected 15 premises in Northern Ireland. The H6N1 virus was also associated with infection on 13 premises in the Republic of Ireland and six in Great Britain. The close genetic relationship between the viruses in Ireland and Northern Ireland suggested a direct causal link whereas those in Great Britain were associated with exposure to a common ancestral virus. Overall, this rapidly spreading outbreak required the culling of over 2 million birds across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland to stamp out the incursion. This report demonstrates the importance of investigating LPAIV outbreaks promptly, given their substantial economic impacts.
Keywords: H6N1 outbreaks; avian influenza virus subtype H6; impact of LPAIV; low-pathogenicity avian influenza virus.
. 2024 Jul 16;16(7):1147.
doi: 10.3390/v16071147. Evaluating the Impact of Low-Pathogenicity Avian Influenza H6N1 Outbreaks in United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Poultry Farms during 2020
Michael J McMenamy[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Robyn McKenna[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Valerie B Bailie[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ben Cunningham[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adam Jeffers[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kelly McCullough[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Catherine Forsythe[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Laura Garza Cuartero[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Orla Flynn[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Christina Byrne[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Emily Connaghan[SUP] 3 [/SUP], John Moriarty[SUP] 3 [/SUP], June Fanning[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Stephanie Ronan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Damien Barrett[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Alice Fusaro[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Isabella Monne[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Calogero Terregino[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Joe James[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Alexander M P Byrne[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Fabian Z X Lean[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Alejandro Núñez[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Scott M Reid[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Rowena Hansen[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Ian H Brown[SUP] 6 8 [/SUP], Ashley C Banyard[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Ken Lemon[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39066308
- PMCID: PMC11281592
- DOI: 10.3390/v16071147
In January 2020, increased mortality was reported in a small broiler breeder flock in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Gross pathological findings included coelomitis, oophoritis, salpingitis, visceral gout, splenomegaly, and renomegaly. Clinical presentation included inappetence, pronounced diarrhoea, and increased egg deformation. These signs, in combination with increased mortality, triggered a notifiable avian disease investigation. High pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) was not suspected, as mortality levels and clinical signs were not consistent with HPAIV. Laboratory investigation demonstrated the causative agent to be a low-pathogenicity avian influenza virus (LPAIV), subtype H6N1, resulting in an outbreak that affected 15 premises in Northern Ireland. The H6N1 virus was also associated with infection on 13 premises in the Republic of Ireland and six in Great Britain. The close genetic relationship between the viruses in Ireland and Northern Ireland suggested a direct causal link whereas those in Great Britain were associated with exposure to a common ancestral virus. Overall, this rapidly spreading outbreak required the culling of over 2 million birds across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland to stamp out the incursion. This report demonstrates the importance of investigating LPAIV outbreaks promptly, given their substantial economic impacts.
Keywords: H6N1 outbreaks; avian influenza virus subtype H6; impact of LPAIV; low-pathogenicity avian influenza virus.