Researchers have discovered that 22 species of passerines – perching and songbirds – located in the contiguous United States are carriers of low-pathogenicity avian influenza. Pathogenicity is the ability of a germ to cause disease.
Passerines, including the golden-crowned kinglet, fox sparrow and northern waterthrushes, are found throughout the U.S. The concern is that passerines can transmit the disease to poultry, which can transmit the disease to humans.
Since passerines share the same habitat as poultry, they may be more effective transmitters of this disease than aquatic birds to humans, said Trevon Fuller, lead author of the paper, published this week in BMC Infectious Diseases.
“Avian influenza virus [AIV] is an important public health issue because pandemic influenza viruses in people have contained genes from viruses that infect birds,” Fuller said. “Some AIV subtypes have periodically mutated from low pathogenicity to high pathogenicity forms that are lethal, for example, to poultry.”
Researchers have discovered that 22 species of passerines – perching and songbirds – located in the contiguous United States are carriers of low-pathogenicity avian influenza. Pathogenicity is the ability of a germ to cause disease.
Passerines, including the golden-crowned kinglet, fox sparrow and northern waterthrushes, are found throughout the U.S. The concern is that passerines can transmit the disease to poultry, which can transmit the disease to humans.
Since passerines share the same habitat as poultry, they may be more effective transmitters of this disease than aquatic birds to humans, said Trevon Fuller, lead author of the paper, published this week in BMC Infectious Diseases.
“Avian influenza virus [AIV] is an important public health issue because pandemic influenza viruses in people have contained genes from viruses that infect birds,” Fuller said. “Some AIV subtypes have periodically mutated from low pathogenicity to high pathogenicity forms that are lethal, for example, to poultry.”
