A new way of avian influenza circulation and transmission has been discovered by American researchers.
Led by Mauro Delogu, virologist from the Veterinary Faculty of the Bologna University and researchers from the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis, Tennessee), the study offers new insights into ecology, surveillance and prevention strategies of avian influenza viruses (AIVs).
And the research could ultimately be important in the fight against influenza.
The scientists actually discovered that the preen oil gland secretions, by which all aquatic birds make their feathers waterproof, support a natural mechanism that concentrates AIVs from water onto birds' bodies.
They found that a progressive virus "sticking" on feathers occurs because AIV-contaminated waters interact with the preen oil gland secretion.
Since waterbirds use to spread preen oil over their own (self-preening) or other birds' (allo-preening) plumage, it is easily understandable how these preening activities could facilitate the diffusion of the viruses in nature.
The discovery has also important implications in the surveillance of avian influenza viruses, added Delogu.
In fact, virus on feathers could escape detection by the current surveillance strategies, which assay the virus secreted in the cloacal and tracheal samples only.
Lack of detection of these viruses may greatly complicate surveillance and rapid responses to new virus emergence and spread.
For this reason in routine surveillance programs, additional sampling methods could be necessary to detect AIVs on birds' bodies, said Delogu.
