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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1462546
This article is part of the Research Topic The Role of Birds in Environmental Transmission Dynamics and Impact on Public Health of Zoonotic Pathogens View all 10 articles

First report of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in common cranes (Grus Grus) in Serbia Natural Infection of Common Cranes (Grus grus) with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in Serbia

Provisionally accepted
Biljana Djurdjević Biljana Djurdjević 1*Tamaš Petrović Tamaš Petrović 1Vladimir Gajdov Vladimir Gajdov 1Dejan Vidanović Dejan Vidanović 2Ivana Vučićević Ivana Vučićević 3Milena Samojlović Milena Samojlović 1Marko Pajić Marko Pajić 1
  • 1 Scientific Veterinary Institute Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
  • 2 Veterinary Specialist Institute Kraljevo, Kraljevo, Serbia
  • 3 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The late autumn epizootic of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) subtype H5N1 in Serbia in 2023 caused massive mortality in the migratory population of common cranes (Grus gGrus). This is the first time HPAIV has been identified in the common crane in Serbia, leading to mass mortality of this bird species. To understand the pathological impact of HPAIV in cranes, we evaluated the pathological changes in the tissues of common cranes. Additionally, we report genomic characterization of HPAI/H5N1. In total, 14 juvenile common crane carcasses were examined. Infected birds primarily exhibited neurologic signs, including ataxia and incoordination. Grossly, necrotizing pancreatitis was the most common finding, while microscopic lesions included necrosis, inflammation and hemorrhages in the lungs, spleen, brain, liver and kidneys. Based on RT-PCR, all birds were infected with the HPAI H5N1 virus, as viral RNA was detected in selected tissues of all 14 craneswas detected in all 14 selected tissues. Genetic analysis revealed that our H5N1 isolate could be grouped with highly pathogenic avian influenza clade 2.3.4.4b, subgroup DA, and is very closely related to the H5N1 strains isolated from the common crane and turkey from Croatia, the common crane from Italy and the Ural owl from Slovakia. Our findings indicateshowed that common cranes are highly susceptible to natural infection with the HPAI H5N1 virus of clade 2.3.4.4b and could serve as biosentinels for detecting the presence of this virus in wildlife. However, future susceptibility may be influenced by the immune status of the population and serological investigations are needed to determine the prevalence of protective antibodies in these birds.and may serve as bio-sentinels for the presence of the HPAI virus in wildlife.

    Keywords: avian influenza, common cranes, H5N1, Pathology, Serbia Font: 16 pt, BOLD, Italic Font: 16 pt

    Received: 10 Jul 2024; Accepted: 18 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Djurdjević, Petrović, Gajdov, Vidanović, Vučićević, Samojlović and Pajić. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Biljana Djurdjević, Scientific Veterinary Institute Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia

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