Evaluation of Non-Vector Transmission of Usutu Virus in Domestic Canaries ( Serinus canaria )

Usutu virus (USUV) is a flavivirus transmitted to avian species through mosquito bites that causes mass mortalities in wild and captive bird populations. However, several cases of positive dead birds have been recorded during the winter, a vector-free period. To explain how USUV "overwinters&qu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Viruses 2024-01, Vol.16 (1), p.79
Main Authors: Blanquer, Aude, Rivas, Felipe, Gérardy, Mazarine, Sarlet, Michaël, Moula, Nassim, Ziegler, Ute, Groschup, Martin H, Desmecht, Daniel, Marichal, Thomas, Garigliany, Mutien
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal populations
Animals
Birds
Body Fluids
Canaries
Disease transmission
Domestic animals
Encephalitis
Environmental aspects
Epidemics
Flavivirus
Health aspects
horizontal transmission
infection
Infections
Infectious Diseases
Inoculation
Insect bites
Life sciences
Mosquitoes
Respiratory Mucosa
Risk factors
Sciences du vivant
Serinus canaria
Sputum
Tropism
usutu virus
Virology
Viruses
West Nile virus
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Summary:Usutu virus (USUV) is a flavivirus transmitted to avian species through mosquito bites that causes mass mortalities in wild and captive bird populations. However, several cases of positive dead birds have been recorded during the winter, a vector-free period. To explain how USUV "overwinters", the main hypothesis is bird-to-bird transmission, as shown for the closely related West Nile virus. To address this question, we experimentally challenged canaries with intranasal inoculation of USUV, which led to systemic dissemination of the virus, provided the inoculated dose was sufficient (>10 TCID ). We also highlighted the oronasal excretion of infectious viral particles in infected birds. Next, we co-housed infected birds with naive sentinels, to determine whether onward transmission could be reproduced experimentally. We failed to detect such transmission but demonstrated horizontal transmission by transferring sputum from an infected to a naive canary. In addition, we evaluated the cellular tropism of respiratory mucosa to USUV in vitro using a canary tracheal explant and observed only limited evidence of viral replication. Further research is then needed to assess if and how comparable bird-to-bird transmission occurs in the wild.
ISSN:1999-4915
1999-4915
DOI:10.3390/v16010079