Recent Changes in Patterns of Mammal Infection with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Worldwide
Year: 2024
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: ince last century, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses have caused diverse waves of infection (1).However, the ongoing panzootic event (2020-2023) caused by HPAI A(H5N1) virus could become one of the most important in terms of economic losses, geographic areas affected, and numbers of species and individual animals infected (1-4).This pathogen appears to be emerging in several regions of the world (e.g., South America); it has caused death in domestic and wild birds but also in mammals (2,5,6).This trend is of great concern because it may indicate a change in the dynamics of this pathogen (i.e., an increase in their range of hosts and the severity of the disease) (3).H5N1 has affected several mammal species since 2003 (6,7), thus raising concern because H5N1 mammalian adaptation could represent a risk not only for diverse wild mammals but also for human health (8-10).Unfortunately, information about this topic, especially related to the current panzootic (2020-2023), is disperse and available often only in gray literature (e.g., databases and official government websites).This fact complicates access and evaluation for many stakeholders working on the front lines (e.g., wildlife managers, conservationists, and public health authorities at regional and local levels).For this article, we compiled and analyzed information from scientific literature about mammal species, including humans, naturally affected by the current panzootic event and compared those findings with the outcomes of previous waves of H5N1 infection.We focus particularly on the species infected, their habitat, phylogeny, and trophic level, and the sources of infection, virus mutations, clinical signs, and necropsy findings associated with this virus.We also address potential risks for biodiversity and human health. MethodsWe compiled scientific information on mammals infected by H5N1 virus through October 2023.We considered only scientific information on mammal species infected naturally (i.e., experimental studies were not included).We performed 2 systematic searches in Scopus and Google Scholar, first using the terms "H5N1 AND mammal"; this search was divided into 2 periods (1996-2019 and 2020-2023)
Source: Emerging infectious diseases
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4392095629