Open AccessDisentangling the role of Africa in the global spread of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza
Author(s) -
Alice Fusaro,
Bianca Zecchin,
Bram Vrancken,
Célia Abolnik,
Rose Ademun,
Abdou Alassane,
Abdel Satar Arafa,
Joseph A. Awuni,
Emmanuel CouacyHymann,
Mamadi Coulibaly,
Nicolas Gaidet,
Emilie Go-Maro,
Tony M. Joannis,
Simon Dickmu Jumbo,
Germaine L. Minoungou,
Clement Meseko,
Maman Moutari Souley,
Deo Birungi Ndumu,
Ismaila Shittu,
Augustin Tshibwabwa Twabela,
Abel Wade,
Lidewij Wiersma,
Yao P. Akpeli,
Gianpiero Zamperin,
Adelaide Milani,
Philippe Lemey,
Isabella Monne
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nature communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.559
H-Index - 365
ISSN - 2041-1723
DOI - 10.1038/s41467-019-13287-y
Subject(s) - influenza a virus subtype h5n1 , virus , highly pathogenic , host (biology) , biology , virology , influenza a virus , avian influenza virus , ecology
The role of Africa in the dynamics of the global spread of a zoonotic and economically-important virus, such as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5Nx of the Gs/GD lineage, remains unexplored. Here we characterise the spatiotemporal patterns of virus diffusion during three HPAI H5Nx intercontinental epidemic waves and demonstrate that Africa mainly acted as an ecological sink of the HPAI H5Nx viruses. A joint analysis of host dynamics and continuous spatial diffusion indicates that poultry trade as well as wild bird migrations have contributed to the virus spreading into Africa, with West Africa acting as a crucial hotspot for virus introduction and dissemination into the continent. We demonstrate varying paths of avian influenza incursions into Africa as well as virus spread within Africa over time, which reveal that virus expansion is a complex phenomenon, shaped by an intricate interplay between avian host ecology, virus characteristics and environmental variables.