Utilization of a Modern Mobile Laboratory for In-Field Detection of Avian Influenza in Waterfowl in North America

With sustained circulation of high pathogenicity avian influenza (H5N1) 2.3.4.4b viruses in North America the need for faster, broader, and higher-scale surveillance of avian viral reservoirs is at an all-time high. We have initiated an alternative to traditional surveillance operations with Bioinformatic Influenza Risk Detection & Waterfowl Assessment for Tracking, Control, & Health (BIRDWATCH), a mobile scientific laboratory that is operated for field testing and analysis of waterfowl samples. In 2024 during preseason banding, we piloted the mobile laboratory in Alberta, Canada, and at national wildlife refuges in both North and South Dakota. We used a magnetic induction thermocycler for real-time PCR screening of cloacal samples hours after collection, a total of 782 cloacal samples were screened and we detected 11.1% M+ gene positive demonstrating successful screening of fresh waterfowl samples over 10-day periods at each site. Therefore, BIRDWATCH represents a fundamental shift in the way we can monitor influenza threats from a retrospective- to a prospective-designed operation that can generate an overall picture of the prevalence of influenza on site before returning to the laboratory. In addition to rapid screening in the field, BIRDWATCH is also primed for mobilization to areas of animal-to-human interface, as well as outbreak areas where rapid determination of influenza genotyping is necessary.

Lisa Kercher*, Karlie Woodard, Ahmed Kandeil, Lance Miller, Walter Harrington, John Franks, Patrick Seiler, and Richard Webby Department of Host Microbe Interactions, NIAID Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response, and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, MEMPHIS TN USA

Notable outbreaks, field and molecular epidemiology, and surveillance in wild birds