Floyd T, Banyard AC, Lean FZX, Byrne AMP, Fullick. Encephalitis and Death in Wild Mammals at a Rehabilitation Center after Infection with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N8) Virus, United Kingdom. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021 Nov;27(11):2856-2863
We report a disease and mortality event involving swans, seals, and a fox at a wildlife rehabilitation center in the United Kingdom during late 2020. Five swans had onset of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus infection while in captivity. Subsequently, 5 seals and a fox died (or were euthanized) after onset of clinical disease. Avian-origin influenza A virus subtype H5N8 was retrospectively determined as the cause of disease. Infection in the seals manifested as seizures, and immunohistochemical and molecular testing on postmortem samples detected a neurologic distribution of viral products. The fox died overnight after sudden onset of inappetence, and postmortem tissues revealed neurologic and respiratory distribution of viral products. Live virus was isolated from the swans, seals, and the fox, and a single genetic change was detected as a potential adaptive mutation in the mammalian-derived viral sequences. No human influenza-like illness was reported in the weeks after the event.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- [preprint]Emergence and antigenic characterisation of influenza A(H3N2) viruses with hemagglutinin substitutions N158K and K189R during the 2024/25 influenza season 17 hours ago
- Epitope specificity shapes the CD4+ T cell response to influenza virus infection in mice 17 hours ago
- Vaccination against H5 HP avian influenza virus leads to persistent immune response in wild king penguins 1 days ago
- Molecular Epidemiology and Genetic Diversity of Influenza B Viruses Based on Whole-Genome Analysis in Japan and Myanmar, 2016-2020 1 days ago
- Assessing HPAI-H5 transmission risk across wild bird migratory flyways in the United States 1 days ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


