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The Veterinary record. 02/2012; 170(7):180.
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ABSTRACT: Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the haemagglutinin and neuraminidase subtype N2 genes of low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs) detected in Ireland between 2003 and 2007. Nucleotide sequences were compared to previously published sequences from the National Centre for Biotechnology Information. Sequences from viruses of the same subtype isolated in different years were compared to examine the possibility that LPAIVs may have been maintained in Ireland from year to year. All viruses had closest identity with published sequences of European lineage, supporting the conclusion that LPAIVs had been introduced to Ireland by dabbling ducks that had migrated from Europe. The data suggested that different subtypes of virus had been introduced each year. However, there was evidence that some LPAIVs may have been maintained in the sedentary waterfowl population for consecutive seasons. Furthermore, almost identical H6 and H10 sequences with different N types were found in isolates from the same season, suggesting that reassortment had occurred.
Epidemiology and Infection 10/2010; 139(8):1191-201. · 2.84 Impact Factor
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P J Raleigh,
O Flynn,
M O'Connor,
T O'Donovan,
B Purcell,
M De Burca,
V Regazzoli,
D Minihan, J Connell,
B K Markey,
D J Sammin
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ABSTRACT: Specimens for the detection of avian influenza virus (AIV) were collected from 1937 waterfowl on the Wexford Sloblands, a major wetland reserve in southeast Ireland, between January 2003 and September 2007. During the same period, 1404 waterfowl were sampled at other locations in Ireland. Specimens were tested either by virus isolation or real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rtRT-PCR). A total of 32 isolates of AIV, comprising nine subtypes, was obtained from specimens from the Sloblands compared with just one isolate from elsewhere in Ireland. Samples from nine other waterfowl, five of which were from the Sloblands, tested positive for AIV by rtRT-PCR. Ecological factors are likely to have contributed to the higher detection rate of AIV at the Sloblands compared with the rest of Ireland. It was concluded that targeted surveillance at such sites is a cost-effective means of monitoring the circulation of new AIVs in waterfowl, whereas widespread opportunistic sampling is unproductive and wasteful of resources.
Epidemiology and Infection 10/2008; 137(4):464-72. · 2.84 Impact Factor
