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Fiocruz identifies avian flu in penguins in Antarctica; virus does not circulate in Brazil

Scientists from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) detected the presence of the virus H11N2 virus subtype influenza A , in penguins in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The avian flu virus does not circulate in Brazil.

O study published in the scientific journal Microbiology Spectrum suggests that there is continuous circulation on the continent and reinforces the importance of surveillance of avian influenza.

Fiocruz conducts investigations in Antarctica through the Fioantar project, which is part of the Brazilian Antarctic Program, conducted by the Navy’s Interministerial Commission for Sea Resources (Cirm).

According to the researchers, there is a possibility that the virus is endemic on the frozen continent, but it does not cause serious illness in penguins. However, there is no scientific evidence of impacts to other animals or humans.

Fiocruz researcher Maria Ogrzewalska, from the Laboratory of Respiratory Viruses and Measles, from the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz), states that the scarcity of studies on the influenza virus in birds in South America makes it difficult to trace the origin of H11N2.

“It is important in terms of surveillance to know what is happening there, but we also need to know what is happening here, where we have enormous biodiversity in birds,” says Maria in a statement.

How the virus was detected

The studies carried out under the Fioantar project aim to investigate new disease-causing agents, such as viruses, fungi and bacteria, which may be present in the Antarctic environment.

For this study, a total of 95 bird feces samples were collected from expeditions carried out in 2019 and 2020 in penguin colonies in the South Shetland Islands. The material was subjected to molecular diagnostic tests, which revealed the avian flu virus in five out of seven samples from Penguin Island.

Genome analysis of four of them revealed the presence of H11N2 in Adélie penguins and chinstrap penguins for the first time on the island. The same subtype had been detected in the 2010s elsewhere in the archipelago and on the Antarctic Peninsula.

flu surveillance

The type A influenza virus is classified into several subtypes, defined by two proteins present on the surface of the viral particle, called hemagglutinin and neuraminidase.

These proteins, essential for influenza’s ability to infect, make up the initials H and N that establish the name of each genetic variety of the virus. There are at least 18 subtypes of hemagglutinins and 11 subtypes of neuraminidases described. Virus A (H3N2), for example, which circulates in the human population, contains hemagglutinin subtype 3 and neuraminidase subtype 2.

Among birds there are a large number of viral subtypes, some capable of causing serious disease in farm animals, leading to great economic losses. These subtypes can also cause mass mortality of birds with consequences for the conservation of threatened species.

“Knowing this virus is important because it has not yet been identified here, in Brazil. It is important for the collection because it gives an idea of ​​the diversity of influenza and what may be circulating in those animal species”, explains virologist Fernando Couto Motta, a researcher at Fioantar and from the same laboratory at the IOC/Fiocruz.

“We are living in a time of great change in the Antarctic and perianarctic environment. Knowing what exists there allows us, in a situation where an imbalance occurs, to understand the size of this imbalance and its consequences”, he adds.

The article emphasizes “the need for monitoring as avian viruses may have implications for the health of endemic fauna and potential risk of introducing a highly pathogenic virus to the continent”.

Each spring, more than 100 million birds breed around the rocky coast of Antarctica and on the islands. They gather in large colonies, sharing habitat. During the winter, many migrate to South America, Africa, or more distant areas such as Australia and New Zealand.

Source: CNN Brasil

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