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About the Authors:
Kaci K. VanDalen
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
Alan B. Franklin
Affiliation: National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
Nicole L. Mooers
Affiliation: National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
Heather J. Sullivan
Affiliation: National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
Susan A. Shriner
Affiliation: National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
Introduction
Avian influenza viruses (AIV) is a term used to describe influenza Type A viruses, which have been isolated from a wide range of avian species throughout the world [1]. Wild birds, predominantly waterfowl and shorebirds, serve as the natural reservoir of influenza A viruses [2]. While AIV rarely cause disease in their wild bird hosts, the potential transmission of AIV to hosts of agricultural and human health importance is of concern. While some AIV can be directly transmitted from wild birds to domestic birds and/or mammals [3], [4], [5], AIV strains may also recombine with mammalian-derived influenza strains, producing recombinant influenza viruses capable of causing disease in humans, and other species [4], [5], [6].
Surveillance of AIV in wild birds may be used to produce risk assessments for poultry, humans, swine, and other animals. AIV generally replicates in the respiratory and/or digestive tracts of infected wild birds suggesting that infections may be monitored with oropharyngeal swabs, tracheal swabs, cloacal swabs, or environmental samples such as water and feces [7], [8], [9]. However, when conducting a large-scale surveillance effort, the collection of so many different sample types can be arduous and time consuming for field personnel. Similarly, AIV isolation in the laboratory can be lengthy, expensive, and AIV strain dependent. Recently, real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) has been evaluated for rapid detection of AIV [10], [11], [12], [13],...