"Molecular Detection and Characterization of Avian Influenza Virus Circulating in Wild Birds in the Southern Region of Brazil"

• Grant number: 24/01882-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Jansen de Araujo
• Grantee: Gustavo de Oliveira Fenner
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Emerging viruses are among the most widely studied topics among scientists, with zoonotic origin viruses being the main ones responsible for emerging from wild animals to cause infections, outbreaks and even pandemics in humans, and in this context the Avian Influenza Virus (AIV) stands out as an emerging infectious agent. The AIV belongs to the Orthomyxoviridae family, the virus is spherical and enveloped, has 16 types of hemagglutinin (HA) and 9 types of neuraminidase (NA) its RNA is segmented, and has negative polarity. The AIVs, when infecting domestic birds, are divided between highly pathogenic viruses (HPAI) and low pathogenicity (LPAI) and it is in domestic birds that they pose the greatest risk, as their spread among domestic birds implies the death of many of them from the disease and requires the sacrifice of many others, which causes major economic problems for the affected country. Brazil is the largest exporter of chicken meat in the world, and a spread of AIV in the country would cause serious economic and social problems. Currently, the world is experiencing an expansion of HPAI subtype H5N1, which was recently detected in Brazil, and the virus is spreading around the world through aquatic migratory birds, which are the reservoir of these viruses, and where they are constantly evolving. The AIVs are viruses of compulsory notification to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) and accentuated by the expansion of H5N1 among migratory birds, the present study aims to increase knowledge about the current circulation of AIV in the southern region of the country, in samples from the Parque Nacional da Lagoa do Peixe - RS, a place of high concentration of local and migratory birds that pass through this migratory route and come from the northern hemisphere, and strengthen the epidemiological surveillance of Avian Influenza viruses. Cloacal and tracheal swab samples will be collected from migratory and local birds in the region analyzed, the RNA will be processed and extracted in a BSL3+, for subsequent molecular detection by real-time PCR, which will be performed with the TaqMan® Avian Influenza Virus (AIV-M) Reagents Kit (Life Technologies), once detected, the AIV will be sequenced for the characterization of the circulating subtypes in our sample population. It is intended to estimate the current circulation of AIV in wild birds in the southern region of Brazil, characterize the viruses found, as well as carry out the eco-epidemiological study of AIVs in the region.