Abstract Title
A Comprehensive Characterization of the 2004 British Columbia H7N3 Avian Influenza Outbreak
Abstract
The 2004 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak due to H7N3 virus in British Colombia, Canada was a devastating event leading to a mass culling of chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and pigeons. This resulted in a major economic loss of an estimated 380$ million for the industry and the country. Farms were placed under quarantine and an estimated 19 million birds in commercial and backyard farms were destroyed to control the spread of the virus.
We conducted whole genome sequencing (WGS) of archived clinical samples that were collected during the outbreak to investigate the evolutionary and spatial dynamics of the of viruses during the outbreak. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the HPAI epidemics emerged from a single LPAI H7N3 ancestor without reassortment. We unravel how the virus mutated and increased its fitness to spread among different species of domestic poultry located in different farms. Using Bayesian phylogeographic analysis, we also provide the most complete evolutionary and phylogeographic analysis of HPAI viruses collected from epidemiologically intertwined and densely populated farms within the Frazer valley in British Colombia, BC.
We conducted whole genome sequencing (WGS) of archived clinical samples that were collected during the outbreak to investigate the evolutionary and spatial dynamics of the of viruses during the outbreak. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the HPAI epidemics emerged from a single LPAI H7N3 ancestor without reassortment. We unravel how the virus mutated and increased its fitness to spread among different species of domestic poultry located in different farms. Using Bayesian phylogeographic analysis, we also provide the most complete evolutionary and phylogeographic analysis of HPAI viruses collected from epidemiologically intertwined and densely populated farms within the Frazer valley in British Colombia, BC.
Co-Author(s)
Patrick Lloyd, Anthony Signore, Tamiru Alkie, Ifeoluwa Ayilara, Yohannes Berhane
Abstract Category
Notable outbreaks, field and molecular epidemiology, and surveillance in poultry