Highly pathogenic avian influenza: Unprecedented outbreaks in Canadian wildlife and domestic poultry

Christian Renaud; Andrea Osborn; Elizabeth Jane Parmley; Todd F Hatchette; J LeBlanc; Jeffrey Scott Weese; Vikram Misra; Deborah Yamamura; Sarah Forgie; Shane Renwick; Duncan Webster; Samira Mubareka; AMMI Canada One Health working group

doi:10.3138/jammi-2023-05-08

Highly pathogenic avian influenza: Unprecedented outbreaks in Canadian wildlife and domestic poultry

J Assoc Med Microbiol Infect Dis Can. 2023 Nov 29;8(3):187-191. doi: 10.3138/jammi-2023-05-08. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, & Department of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
² Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canada.
³ Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Central Zone Nova Scotia Health, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁵ Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
⁷ Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
⁹ Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, Canada.
¹⁰ Division of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract
in English, French

Canada experienced a wave of HPAI H5N1 outbreaks in the spring of 2022 with millions of wild and farmed birds being infected. Seabird mortalities in Canada have been particularly severe on the Atlantic Coast over the summer of 2022. Over 7 million birds have been culled in Canada, and outbreaks continue to profoundly affect commercial bird farms across the world. This new H5N1 virus can and has infected multiple mammalian species, including skunks, foxes, bears, mink, seals, porpoises, sea lions, and dolphins. Viruses with mammalian adaptations such as the mutations PB2-E627K, E627V, and D701N were found in the brain of various carnivores in Europe and Canada. To date this specific clade of H5N1 virus has been identified in less than 10 humans. At the ground level, awareness should be raised among frontline practitioners most likely to encounter patients with HPAI.

Le Canada a vécu un vague d’éclosions de grippe aviaire de souche H5N1 hautement pathogène au printemps 2022 lorsque des millions d’oiseaux sauvages et d’oiseaux d’élevage ont été infectés. La mortalité des oiseaux marins au Canada a été particulièrement marquée sur la côte Atlantique pendant l’été 2022. Plus de sept millions d’oiseaux ont été abattus au Canada, et les éclosions continuent de nuire profondément aux élevages commerciaux d’oiseaux dans le monde. Ce nouveau virus H5N1 peut infecter de multiples espèces de mammifères, y compris des mouffettes, des renards, des ours, des visons, des phoques, des marsouins, des otaries et des dauphins. Les virus adaptés aux mammifères et porteurs des mutations PB2-E627K, E627V et D701N, ont été observés dans le cerveau de divers carnivores de l’Europe et du Canada. Jusqu’à présent, ce clade du virus H5N1 a été dépisté chez moins de dix humains. Sur le terrain, il est important de sensibiliser les praticiens de première ligne qui sont plus susceptibles de voir des patients atteints de la grippe aviaire de souche hautement pathogène.

Keywords: H5N1; One Health; avian flu; influenza; mammalian adaptation.

Grants and funding

Funding: No funding was received for this work.

Abstract in English, French

Grants and funding

Abstract
in English, French