Abstract Title
Examining avian influenza virus exposure in seabirds of the northwest Atlantic in 2022 and 2023 via antibodies in eggs
Abstract
Seabirds are frequently infected by avian influenza virus (AIV), which was attributed to low pathogenic viruses prior to 2021. Since the introduction of highly pathogenic AIV (HPAIV) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b to North America in late 2021, outbreaks in seabirds have occurred in multiple regions with high levels of morbidity and mortality in some species. While viral monitoring tracks pathogen spread, understanding exposure and survival in species affected by major outbreaks is important for identifying potential individual- and population-level impacts. Using ongoing egg collection programs, we evaluated AIV nucleoprotein (NP) and hemagglutinin subtype 5 (H5) antibodies in 523 eggs collected in 2022 and 2023 from 11 seabird species that breed in the northwestern Atlantic. AIV antibody prevalence, particularly for H5, varied by region, species, and year. American common eider (Somateria mollissima dresseri) eggs had the highest prevalence of AIV antibodies compared to sympatric species in 2023. Longitudinal samples were available for northern gannets (Morus bassanus) and American herring gulls (Larus argentatus smithsoniansus) at several sites, where the prevalence of AIV NP- and H5-specific antibodies increased from 2022 to 2023. Results should be considered in light of study limitations, as antibody kits designed for plasma were used on egg yolk samples, and H5-positive results do not distinguish between exposure to low and high pathogenic H5 viruses. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that examining AIV antibody prevalence in seabird eggs can be a useful tool to determine varying levels of maternal exposure to AIV at the landscape level.
Co-Author(s)
Angela McLaughlin1,2, Jolene Giacinti1, Sailendra Nath Sarma1, Michael G.C. Brown3, Robert A. Ronconi4, Raphaël A. Lavoie5, Margaret L. Eng6, Bridget Enright1, Andrew S. Lang7, Ishraq Rahman7, Jordan Wight7, Kathryn E. Hargan7, Mark L. Mallory8, Julia E. Baak9, Megan Jones10, Michelle Saunders11, Reyd Dupuis-Smith12, Kyle Elliott13, H. Grant Gilchrist1, Holly L. Hennin1, Magella Guillemette14, Pauline Martigny14, William Montevecchi7, Aevar Petersen15, Yohannes Berhane16, Jennifer F. Provencher1*
Affiliations
1Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
2Bioinformatics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
3Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Gatineau, QC, Canada
4Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
5Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Québec, QC, Canada
6Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada Dartmouth, NS, Canada
7Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
8Department of Biology, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada
9Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Iqaluit, NU
10Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
11Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Nunatsiavut Government, Nain, NL, Canada
12Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
13Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
14Département de Biologie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada
15Brautarland 2, Reykjavik, Iceland
16National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Abstract Category
Notable outbreaks, field and molecular epidemiology, and surveillance in wild birds