Lowly pathogenic avian influenza (H9N2) infection in Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), Qinghai Lake, China

Low viral doses are sufficient to infect cottontail rabbits with avian influenza A virus

“…Although lagomorphs (i.e., rabbits, hares, and pika) could be considered unlikely candidates in the epidemiology of avian influenza A viruses (IAVs), some lagomorph species are susceptible to multiple subtypes of these viruses [18,28,29]. For example, natural exposures of both highly pathogenic (HP) and low pathogenic (LP) avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) have been reported from plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) sampled near Qinghai Lake, China [28,29], a location where HP H5N1 IAV has been detected on many occasions [5,26].…”

“…For example, natural exposures of both highly pathogenic (HP) and low pathogenic (LP) avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) have been reported from plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) sampled near Qinghai Lake, China [28,29], a location where HP H5N1 IAV has been detected on many occasions [5,26]. In addition, experimentally infected cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus sp.)…”

Cottontail rabbits shed clade 2.3.4.4 H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza A viruses

“…For example, H5N1, H9N2, and H7N2 IAVs have been isolated from plateau pika in Qinghai Province [18,19,21]. Further, antibodies reactive with H5 and H9 subtypes have also been reported in this species from this region [20,21]. This suggests that a comparable AI hotspot in North America, one where wild lagomorphs and waterfowl are in close proximity to each other, could facilitate natural IAV infections in cottontails.…”

Adaptive amino acid substitutions enhance the virulence of an H7N7 avian influenza virus isolated from wild waterfowl in mice

“…While AIVs typically replicate efficiently in their natural hosts, there is evidence that AIVs can infect mammals, including dogs, cats, plateau pikas, rhesus macaques, and humans Shinya et al, 2012;Songserm et al, 2006;Yu et al, 2014a;Zhang et al, 2013aZhang et al, , 2013b. Some AIVs are reported to be capable of transmission between mammals, suggesting that AIVs may possess pandemic potential Gao et al, 2009;Zhang et al, 2013c).…”