Lail AJ, Vuyk WC, Machkovech H, Minor NR, Hassan N. Amplicon sequencing of pasteurized retail dairy enables genomic surveillance of H5N1 avian influenza virus in United States cattle. PLoS One. 2025 Jun 13;20(6):e0325203
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses with H5 hemagglutinin (HA) genes (clade 2.3.4.4b) are causing an ongoing panzootic in wild birds. Circulation of these viruses is associated with spillover infections in multiple species of mammals, including a large, unprecedented outbreak in American dairy cattle. Before widespread on-farm testing, there was an unmet need for genomic surveillance. Infected cattle can shed high amounts of HPAI H5N1 viruses in milk, allowing detection in pasteurized retail dairy samples. Over a 2-month sampling period in one Midwestern city, we obtained dairy products processed in 20 different states. Here we demonstrate that a tiled-amplicon sequencing approach produced over 90% genome coverage at greater than 20x depth from 5 of 13 viral RNA positive samples, with higher viral copies corresponding to better sequencing success. The sequences clustered phylogenetically within the rest of the cattle outbreak sequences reported. A combination of RT-qPCR testing and sequencing from retail dairy products can be a useful component of a One Health framework for responding to the avian influenza outbreak in cattle.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- Engineered Bacillus subtilis to deliver dsRNA via extracellular vesicles against the H9N2 avian influenza virus 2 hours ago
- [preprint]Spatiotemporal dynamics and ecological risk factors of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) in Canadian wildlife: A One Health surveillance analysis 2 hours ago
- Epidemiological and Virological Characteristics of H9N2 Avian Influenza Virus in Jiangsu Province, China, 2024 14 hours ago
- Innate Pathway Selection Modulates Antibody and T-Cell Responses to Mosaic Influenza Nucleoprotein in Cattle 1 days ago
- Game Over for the Baseline: Influenza Hospitalization Patterns Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic (FluSurv-NET, 2009–2025) 1 days ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


