Abstract Title
Mass Mortality in Gulls and Terns: Insights from Dutch HPAI H5N1 Outbreaks in 2022–2023
Abstract
Outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5 clade 2.3.4.4b of the Gs/Gd lineage in poultry and wild birds have increased substantially in recent years worldwide. Before 2021, HPAI outbreaks in wild birds primarily affected Anseriformes species (ducks, geese and swans) during the autumn and winter months. However, since 2021, an unprecedented increase of HPAI H5N1 virus detections in wild bird birds has taken place associated with numerous mass mortality events in various wild bird species and mammals across Eurasia, Africa, North and South America, and most recently Antarctica. In the Netherlands, colony-breeding seabird species, including Sandwich terns (Thalasseus sandvicensis) and Black-headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) have been particularly affected during the 2022 and 2023 breeding seasons, respectively, causing tens of thousands of deaths. Rijks et al. provided initial insights into the virological and pathological features of the 2022 HPAI H5N1 outbreak in Sandwich terns and its population impact (Emerg Infect Dis. 28:2538-2542 2022). Here, we provide updated virology and serology data from the Sandwich terns collected in 2023, linked to the 2022 outbreak, along with detailed pathological and deep-sequencing data for birds collected at early, mid, and late stages of the 2022 Sandwich tern outbreak. Furthermore, we present a comprehensive overview of the 2023 mass mortality of Black-headed gulls, derived from active and passive surveillance, including virology, serology, pathology, population data and genome sequence data. These analyses provide unique insights into the changing epidemiology of HPAI H5N1 virus circulation in wild birds, with enzootic patterns in recent years.
Co-Author(s)
Beatriz Bellido-Martin(1), Monika Ballman(2), Edwin Veldhuis Kroezen(1), Lineke Begeman(1), Mathis Funk(1), Sander Lilipally(2), Leon Kelder(3), Peter de Boer(4), Frank Majoor(4), Roy Slauterus(4), Sanne Thewessen(1), Oanh Vuong(1), Vera Mols(1), Leopold Mardik(5), Thijs Kuiken(1), Nancy Beerens(6), Ron A.M. Fouchier(1)
(1) Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam 3015 CE, Netherlands
(2) Deltamilieu Projecten, Vlissingen 4382 NV, Netherlands
(3) Saatsbosbeheer, Amersfoort 3811 MG, Netherlands
(4) Sovon Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen 6503 GA, Netherlands
(5) Wageningen Marine Research, Wageningen University, Den Helder 1781 AG, Netherlands
(6) Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Wageningen University, Lelystad 8221 RA, Netherlands
Abstract Category
Notable outbreaks, field and molecular epidemiology, and surveillance in wild birds