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. 2023 Sep 7;85(9):942-949.
doi: 10.1292/jvms.23-0122. Epub 2023 Jul 26.

Susceptibility of common dabbling and diving duck species to clade 2.3.2.1 H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza virus: an experimental infection study

Kosuke Soda  1   2 , Yukiko Tomioka  1 , Tatsufumi Usui  1   2 , Hiroichi Ozaki  1   2 , Hiroshi Ito  1   2 , Yasuko Nagai  1 , Naoki Yamamoto  3   4 , Masatoshi Okamatsu  3 , Norikazu Isoda  3 , Masahiro Kajihara  5 , Yoshihiro Sakoda  3   6 , Ayato Takada  5   6 , Toshihiro Ito  1   2
Affiliations

Susceptibility of common dabbling and diving duck species to clade 2.3.2.1 H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza virus: an experimental infection study

Kosuke Soda et al. J Vet Med Sci. .

Abstract

In the winter of 2010-2011, Japan experienced a large outbreak of infections caused by clade 2.3.2.1 H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) in wild birds. Interestingly, many tufted ducks (Aythya fuligula), which are migratory diving ducks, succumbed to the infection, whereas only one infection case was reported in migratory dabbling duck species, the major natural hosts of the influenza A virus, during the outbreak. To assess whether the susceptibility of each duck species to HPAIVs was correlated with the number of cases, tufted duck and dabbling duck species (Eurasian wigeon, Mareca penelope; mallard, Anas platyrhynchos; Northern pintail, Anas acuta) were intranasally inoculated with A/Mandarin duck/Miyazaki/22M807-1/2011 (H5N1), an index clade 2.3.2.1 virus previously used for experimental infection studies in various bird species. All ducks observed for 10 days post-inoculation (dpi) mostly shed the virus via the oral route and survived. The tufted ducks shed a higher titer of the virus than the other dabbling duck species, and one of them showed apparent neurological symptoms after 7 dpi, which were accompanied by eye lesions. No clinical symptoms were observed in the dabbling ducks, although systemic infection and viremia were observed in some of them sacrificed at 3 dpi. These results suggest that the susceptibility of clade 2.3.2.1 HPAIVs might differ by duck species.

Keywords: avian viral disease; experimental pathology; influenza virus; pathogenicity; wildlife disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors of this paper has any financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Experimental design of H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza virus inoculation to ducks.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Appearance of tufted ducks inoculated with clade 2.3.2.1 H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza virus (A, T02 at 7 dpi; B, T01 at 10 dpi). T02 showed ocular lesions such as corneal opacity and mydriasis after 7 dpi (A) whereas no clinical signs were eventually observed in T01 (B).
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Representative histopathological findings and influenza virus antigen detection in the tissues of T02 and P08. (A and B) Lesions in the brain and the heart of T02; (C) Detected influenza viral antigens nearby lesions shown in (A); (D) Detected influenza viral antigens in the lungs of P08. Arrow heads indicate virus antigen-positive cells and cell debris. Bars indicate 50 µm (A, C, and D) or 100 µm (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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