Abstract Title
Would Influenza A virus be circulating silently at a public market in Brazil?
Abstract
Since the detection of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) in three marine birds in Espírito Santo, Brazil, in May 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock has conducted 3,474 investigations into suspected cases of Avian Respiratory and Nervous Syndrome, focusing on Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease. These investigations led to the collection of 977 samples by official veterinarians, resulting in 166 confirmed HPAI outbreaks affecting 169 animals—comprising three domestic birds and 166 wild animals. In response, our research group implemented an active epidemiological surveillance strategy targeting the influenza A virus (IAV) in asymptomatic wild free birds in a densely populated urban center in the Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State (CEUA 125/2023 and SISBIO 88559-1). We also received additional samples (oral and cloacal swabs) from asymptomatic birds at a public market in BH. These samples underwent RT-qPCR analysis targeting the M gene and were further confirmed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). As of October 2024, no wild free birds tested positive for IAV; however, one turkey from the market tested positive in an oral swab (Ct value 26.608) and was confirmed as HxN1 through NGS, though the hemagglutinin subtype remains uncharacterized, the analyses are ongoing. Given the clinical-epidemiological context shown, low pathogenicity avian influenza is suspected. The BH public market, resembling live-animal markets globally, sells various products, including live animals often kept in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. This finding in this setting raises significant public health concerns, highlighting the potential for silent IAV transmission in a time-bomb epidemiological scenario.
Co-Author(s)
Thaís Larissa Lourenço Castanheira1,2; Pedro Almeida Rezende3; Julia Penna de Andrade4; Camilla Faria Soares4; Nágila Rocha Aguilar2; Lucas Belchior Souza de Oliveira2,5; Gustavo de Morais Donancio Rodrigues Xaulim6; Erica Azevedo Costa7; Marcelo Pires Nogueira de Carvalho7
1Professor at Veterinary Medicine course of Federal Institute of Northern Minas Gerais (IFNMG)-Campus Salinas;
2PhD student, Postgraduate Program in Animal Science at the School of Veterinary Medicine of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG);
3Undergraduate student, School of Veterinary Medicine of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG);
4Veterinary Resident in Public Health with Emphasis on Human and Wildlife Health Interface, School of Veterinary Medicine of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG);
5Assistant Professor at the University Center of Belo Horizonte (UniBH) and UNA;
6Veterinarian at the State Animal Protection Coordination Office of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Minas Gerais;
7Adjunct Professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG)
Abstract Category
Diagnostics, vaccination, or other mitigation strategies for poultry and wildlife