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Molecular Epidemiological Analysis of the Transboundary Transmission of 2003 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H 7 N 7 Outbreaks Between T he N etherlands and B elgium
Author(s) -
Van Borm S.,
Jonges M.,
Lambrecht B.,
Koch G.,
Houdart P.,
van den Berg T.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
transboundary and emerging diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.392
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1865-1682
pISSN - 1865-1674
DOI - 10.1111/tbed.12009
Subject(s) - outbreak , influenza a virus subtype h5n1 , biosecurity , geography , transmission (telecommunications) , epidemiology , highly pathogenic , contact tracing , socioeconomics , spatial epidemiology , veterinary medicine , biology , virology , covid-19 , ecology , medicine , virus , disease , pathology , sociology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , electrical engineering , engineering
Summary The 2003 outbreak of H ighly pathogenic avian influenza ( HPAI ) A ( H 7 N 7) in the N etherlands, B elgium and G ermany resulted in significant genetic diversification that proved informative for tracing transmission events. Building on previous investigations on the D utch outbreak, we focused on the potential transnational transmissions between the N etherlands and B elgium. Although no clear epidemiological links could be identified from the tracing data, the transmission network based on concatenated HA ‐ NA ‐ PB 2 sequences supports at least three independent introductions from the N etherlands to B elgium and suggests one possible introduction form B elgium back to the N etherlands. Two introductions in the B elgian province of L imburg occurred from nearby farms in the D utch province of L imburg. One introduction resulted in three secondary infected farms, while a second introduction did not cause secondary infections. The third introduction into B elgium occurred in the north of the A ntwerp province, very close to the national border, and originated from the N orth of the D utch province B rabant (long distance transmission, >65 km). The virus spread to two additional B elgian farms, one of which may be the source of a secondarily infected farm in the N etherlands. One infected turkey farm in the province of A ntwerp ( W estmalle) was geographically close to the latter introduction, but genetically clustered with the first introduction event in the Limburg province. Epidemiological tracing data could neither confirm nor exclude whether this outbreak was a result from long distance contacts within B elgium or whether this farm presented a fourth independent transboundary introduction. These multiple transnational transmissions of HPAI in spite of reinforced biosecurity measures and trade restrictions illustrate the importance of international cooperation, legislation and standardization of tools to combat transboundary diseases.