Combined Phylogeographic Analyses and Epidemiologic Contact Tracing to Characterize Atypically Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H3N1) Epidemic, Belgium, 2019

The high economic impact and zoonotic potential of avian influenza call for detailed investigations of dispersal dynamics of epidemics. We integrated phylogeographic and epidemiologic analyses to investigate the dynamics of a low pathogenicity avian influenza (H3N1) epidemic that occurred in Belgium during 2019. Virus genomes from 104 clinical samples originating from 85% of affected farms were sequenced. A spatially explicit phylogeographic analysis confirmed a dominating northeast to southwest dispersal direction and a long-distance dispersal event linked to direct live animal transportation... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Steven Van Borm
Géraldine Boseret
Simon Dellicour
Mieke Steensels
Virginie Roupie
Frank Vandenbussche
Elisabeth Mathijs
Aline Vilain
Michèle Driesen
Marc Dispas
Andy W. Delcloo
Philippe Lemey
Ingeborg Mertens
Marius Gilbert
Bénédicte Lambrecht
Thierry van den Berg
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
Reihe/Periodikum: Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol 29, Iss 2, Pp 351-359 (2023)
Verlag/Hrsg.: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Schlagwörter: influenza / respiratory infections / viruses / avian influenza / whole-genome sequencing / molecular epidemiology / Medicine / R / Infectious and parasitic diseases / RC109-216
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26613679
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2902.220765

The high economic impact and zoonotic potential of avian influenza call for detailed investigations of dispersal dynamics of epidemics. We integrated phylogeographic and epidemiologic analyses to investigate the dynamics of a low pathogenicity avian influenza (H3N1) epidemic that occurred in Belgium during 2019. Virus genomes from 104 clinical samples originating from 85% of affected farms were sequenced. A spatially explicit phylogeographic analysis confirmed a dominating northeast to southwest dispersal direction and a long-distance dispersal event linked to direct live animal transportation between farms. Spatiotemporal clustering, transport, and social contacts strongly correlated with the phylogeographic pattern of the epidemic. We detected only a limited association between wind direction and direction of viral lineage dispersal. Our results highlight the multifactorial nature of avian influenza epidemics and illustrate the use of genomic analyses of virus dispersal to complement epidemiologic and environmental data, improve knowledge of avian influenza epidemiologic dynamics, and enhance control strategies.