Open AccessEpidemiology of avian influenza H5N1 virus in Egypt and its zoonotic potential
Author(s) -
Nahed H. Ghoneim,
Khaled A. Abdel-Moein,
Hala M. Zaher
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
asian pacific journal of tropical disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.208
H-Index - 33
ISSN - 2222-1808
DOI - 10.1016/s2222-1808(14)60693-9
Subject(s) - influenza a virus subtype h5n1 , virology , virus , veterinary medicine , avian influenza virus , biology , epidemiology , throat , influenza a virus , antibody , medicine , immunology , anatomy
Objective: To investigate the epidemiology of avian influenza H5N1 virus in domestic poultry and\udits zoonotic potential in Egypt.\udMethods: Tracheal swabs were collected from two hundred and forty three domestic poultry\ud(chickens, ducks and geese) from commercial farms and backyards, and thirty two blood samples\udfrom unvaccinated chickens. Fifty two throat swabs and twenty blood samples were collected from\udpersons who are in contact with diseased and/or infected birds. Tracheal and throat swabs were\udexamined for the presence of avian influenza virus H5N1 genome by real-time RT-PCR whereas\udblood samples were tested by competitive ELISA for the presence of avian influenza virus H5\udantibodies.\udResults: The overall prevalence of H5N1 in the examined birds was 5.3% while the prevalence\udrates among different poultry species were 9%, 4.7% and 0% for ducks, chicken and geese\udrespectively. Moreover, we detected H5 antibodies in 12.5% of the examined backyard chickens.\udAll examined humans were negative for both viral RNA and antibodies.\udConclusions: Our findings highlight the broad circulation of H5N1 virus among poultry in Egypt\udwhereas it still has a limited zoonotic potential so far