Abstract Title
Implications of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Canada Geese: Insights from surveillance in Ontario, Canada.
Abstract
Canada geese (Branta canadensis; CAGO) are abundant, urban-adapted and an important food resource for Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous hunters in Canada. CAGO have been heavily affected by the incursion of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, with frequent, highly visible cases of neurological symptoms and mortality. As a result, CAGO are perceived as central to the current HPAIV outbreak in Canada and the eastern United States, raising concerns about their role as potential HPAIV reservoirs and the associated public health risks. However, little is known about the ecology of H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in CAGO, particularly regarding antibody response and virus shedding in subclinical birds. To address this, we used passive and active surveillance to explore HPAIV ecology in CAGO in Ontario, Canada between 2022-2024. Surveillance included necropsy and virus detection in sick/dead CAGO, as well as virus detection, serology, and egg antibody detection from live, apparently healthy individuals (and their nests), sampled largely in spring and fall. Our results suggest that some CAGO experience acute morbidity secondary to H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b infection. However, virus shedding was extremely rare in apparently healthy birds, and serology and egg antibody data suggest widespread exposure and survival. Our data also suggest that current surveillance efforts may be missing periods of peak infection prevalence, possibly due to transient viral shedding in this species and/or seasonal timing of CAGO surveillance. These findings underscore the importance of a management-focused and risk-centered approach to surveillance planning and data interpretation for this emblematic One Health species.
Co-Author(s)
•Authors: Kerry Schutten1, Hannah Lewis2, Jolene A. Giacinti3, Brian Stevens1, Claire M. Jardine1, Jennifer F Provencher3, Yohannes Berhane4, Rodney Brook5, Christopher M. Sharp2
•Author affiliations:
1)Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
2)Ontario Region Wildlife and Habitat Assessment Section, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
3)Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
4)National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Government of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
5)Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Science and Research Branch, Provincial Services Division, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Abstract Category
Notable outbreaks, field and molecular epidemiology, and surveillance in wild birds