Version 1
: Received: 20 August 2024 / Approved: 21 August 2024 / Online: 22 August 2024 (02:32:39 CEST)
How to cite:
Michalska-Smith, M.; Clements, E.; Rasmussen, E.; Culhane, M. R.; Craft, M. E. Location, Age, and Antibodies Predict Avian Influenza Virus Shedding in Ring-Billed and Franklin’s Gulls in Minnesota. Preprints2024, 2024081524. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1524.v1
Michalska-Smith, M.; Clements, E.; Rasmussen, E.; Culhane, M. R.; Craft, M. E. Location, Age, and Antibodies Predict Avian Influenza Virus Shedding in Ring-Billed and Franklin’s Gulls in Minnesota. Preprints 2024, 2024081524. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1524.v1
Michalska-Smith, M.; Clements, E.; Rasmussen, E.; Culhane, M. R.; Craft, M. E. Location, Age, and Antibodies Predict Avian Influenza Virus Shedding in Ring-Billed and Franklin’s Gulls in Minnesota. Preprints2024, 2024081524. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1524.v1
APA Style
Michalska-Smith, M., Clements, E., Rasmussen, E., Culhane, M. R., & Craft, M. E. (2024). Location, Age, and Antibodies Predict Avian Influenza Virus Shedding in Ring-Billed and Franklin’s Gulls in Minnesota. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1524.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Michalska-Smith, M., Marie R Culhane and Meggan E Craft. 2024 "Location, Age, and Antibodies Predict Avian Influenza Virus Shedding in Ring-Billed and Franklin’s Gulls in Minnesota" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1524.v1
Abstract
Influenza A Virus (IAV) is a multi-host pathogen maintained in water birds and capable of spillover into humans, wildlife, and livestock. Prior research has focused on dabbling ducks as a known IAV reservoir species, yet our understanding of influenza dynamics in other water birds, including gulls, is lacking. Here, we quantify morphological and environmental drivers of serological (antibody detection by ELISA) and virological (viral RNA detection by PCR) prevalence in two gull species: Ring-billed (\emph{Larus delawarensis}) and Franklin's (\emph{Leucophaeus pipixcan}) gulls. Across 12 months and 10 locations, we tested over 1500 gulls for influenza viral RNA, and additionally tested antibody levels in nearly 1000 of these. We find substantial virus prevalence and a large, nonoverlapping seroprevalence, with significant differences across age and species classifications. Body condition index had minimal explanatory power to predict (sero)positivity, and the effect of the surrounding environment was idiosyncratic. Our results hint at a nontrivial relationship between virus and seropositivity, highlighting serological surveillance as a valuable counterpoint to sequencing. By providing indication of both past infections and susceptibility to future infections, serosurviellance can help inform the distribution of limited resources to maximize surveillance effectiveness for a disease of high human, wildlife, and livestock concern.
Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
