The role of wild birds in the spread of influenza viruses.

Abstract

Eggs deposited by different migrating wild bird species in pond farm areas in Hungary were examined for yolk antibodies to different variants of human A/H3N2 influenza virus. Antibodies to Victoria/75 and Texas/77 occurred in 17.9 and 32.0% of gull eggs, and 5.6 and 16.4% of common tern eggs, respectively, while antibodies to A/H1N1/77 occurred in roughly similar proportions (10.2 and 13.4%) in the eggs of both species. Infection of the gull and tern populations of given areas by human and avian influenza A viruses differed greatly in two consecutive hatching periods. While in 1978 7.6 and 1.1% of the gull and tern eggs, respectively, contained antibodies to the avian subtype Havl, no such antibodies were found in 1977. Subtype A/H3N2/Texas/77 virus was isolated from adult gulls and 1-3 weeks old gull chicks, and subtype H1N1 virus from mallard ducks. Three months before the onset of the Texas/77 epidemic, 95% of SPF chickens, and 71-81% of chickens hatched 3 months after termination of the A/H1N1/77 epidemic, had had HI, VN and SRH antibodies to the Texas/77 strain and A/H1N1/77 strains, respectively.