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  • Qinghai-like H5N1 from Domestic Cats, Northern Iraq

    hat-tip SolitaireUK!

    Volume 12, Number 8?August 2006
    Letter

    Qinghai-like H5N1 from Domestic Cats, Northern Iraq

    Samuel L. Yingst,* Magdi D. Saad,* and Stephen A. Felt*
    *US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Cairo, Egypt



    To the Editor: Natural infection of several cat species with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 viruses in Thailand (1?4) and experimental infection of domestic cats with similar viruses have been reported (5,6). Thus, literature describing HPAI H5N1 infection of cats is limited to descriptions of infections with a subset of clade I viruses. HPAI H5N1 viruses, highly similar to viruses isolated from Qinghai Lake in western People's Republic of China in spring 2005, are now rapidly disseminating throughout Eurasia and Africa. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a Qinghai-like virus detected in domestic cats. This finding is noteworthy because the host range of influenza viruses is determined by the antigenic characteristics of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase molecules; clade II viruses are antigenically distinct from clade I viruses, and Qinghai-like viruses are genetically distinct from other clade II viruses.

    Personal communications in January 2006 from field veterinarians noted deaths of domestic cats that were associated with suspected (eventually confirmed) H5N1 outbreaks in eastern Turkey (2 villages) and Kurdish northern Iraq (Sarcapcarn in Sulymaniyah Governorate and Grd Jotyar in Erbil Governorate). The clinical conditions of the birds did not suggest HPAI to villagers or consulting veterinarians. In both scenarios in Iraq, results of rapid antigen detection tests with the Anigen kit (Suwon, Republic of Korea), while positive for influenza A, were negative for H5, so the outbreaks were not thought to be caused by HPAI, but concern about the unusual deaths in cats remained. Because the regions are remote and veterinary services limited, such anecdotal reports have rarely been followed up.

    After H5N1 influenza was diagnosed in a person in Sarcapcarn, Kurdish northern Iraq, the government of Iraq requested a World Health Organization investigation, which was supported in part by Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 veterinarians. While investigating the situation in Erbil Governorate, the team was informed of suspicious deaths in cats associated with the death of all 51 chickens in a household in Grd Jotyar (≈10 km north of Erbil City). From February 3 to February 5, 2006, five cats reportedly died; 2 of these were available for examination on February 8. A sick goose from an adjacent household was killed and underwent necropsy with the cats. Gross pathologic changes in cats were similar to those previously reported, except that severe hemorrhagic pancreatitis was observed (5,6). Tissues from these animals and archived tissues from 1 of the 51 chickens were conveyed to Cairo for virologic examination.

    An influenza A H5 virus was present in multiple organs in all species from the outbreak site in Grd Jotyar (Table). cDNA for sequencing was amplified directly from RNA extracts from pathologic materials without virus isolation. On the basis of sequence analysis of the full HA1 gene and 219 amino acids of the HA2 gene, the viruses from the goose and 1 cat from Grd Jotyar and from the person who died from Sarcapcarn (sequence derived from PCR amplification from first-passage egg material) are >99% identical at the nucleotide and amino acid levels (GenBank nos. DQ435200?02). Thus, no indication of virus adaptation to cats was found. The viruses from Iraq are most closely related to currently circulating Qinghai-like viruses, but when compared with A/bar-headed goose/Qinghai/65/2005 (H5N1) (GenBank no. DQ095622), they share only 97.4% identity at the nucleic acid level with 3 amino acid substitutions of unknown significance. On the other hand, the virus from the cat is only 93.4% identical to A/tiger/Thailand/CU-T4/2004(H5N1) (GenBank no. AY972539). These results are not surprising, given that these strains are representative of different clades (8,9). Sequencing of 1,349 bp of the N gene from cat 1 and the goose (to be submitted to GenBank) show identity at the amino acid level, and that the N genes of viruses infecting the cat and goose are >99% identical to that of A/bar-headed goose/Qinghai/65/2005(H5N1). These findings support the notion that cats may be broadly susceptible to circulating H5N1 viruses and thus may play a role in reassortment, antigenic drift, and transmission.

    The route of infection in these cats cannot be determined definitively. How cats behave when eating birds makes both oral and respiratory infection possible. However, the source of infection seems clear in that an identical H5N1 virus was detected in samples from a goose from the same dwelling, and an H5 virus was detected from archived samples from 1 of 51 chickens that died over the course of a few days. The potential for horizontal spread cannot be ruled out since we detected viral RNA in gut, stool, and trachea; clinical signs developed in all cats, and all died from the acute illness 2?4 days after the chicken deaths began; therefore, simultaneous exposure seems likely. Death in cats, spatially and temporally associated with unusual deaths in poultry, especially when the cats show positive results of a rapid antigen detection test for influenza A, should be considered to indicate a presumptive diagnosis of HPAI, and appropriate response should ensue.

    Acknowledgments

    We thank Elham Botrus Shabo, Saman Najeeb, Faisal Polus, Sura Jabar, Saidawan Omer Yussif, and Burhan Sulaiman for facilitation and technical assistance in sampling and performing necropsies, and Bradford Camp, Odis Kendrick, and Kosar Shaheer for communications and security.

    This work was supported by funding through the Naval Medical Research Center work unit GEIS E0018.

    References

    1. Keawcharoen J, Oraveerakul K, Kuiken T, Fouchier RA, Amonsin A, Payungporn S, et al. Avian influenza H5N1 in tigers and leopards. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10:2189?91.
    2. Thanawongnuwech R, Amonsin A, Tantilertcharoen R, Damrongwatanapokin S, Theamboonlers A, Payungporn S, et al. Probable tiger-to-tiger transmission of avian influenza H5N1. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005;5:699?701. Erratum in Emerg Infect Dis. 2005;11:976.
    3. Songserm T, Amonsin A, Jam-on R, Sae-Heng N, Meemak N, Pariyothorn N, et al. Avian influenza H5N1 in naturally infected domestic cat. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:681?3.
    4. Amonsin A, Payungporn S, Theamboonlers A, Thanawongnuwech R, Suradhat S, Pariyothorn N, et al. Genetic characterization of H5N1 influenza A viruses isolated from zoo tigers in Thailand. Virology. 2006;344:480?91.
    5. Rimmelzwaan GF, van Riel D, Baars M, Bestebroer TM, van Amerongen G, Fouchier RA, et al. Influenza A virus (H5N1) infection in cats causes systemic disease with potential novel routes of virus spread within and between hosts. Am J Pathol. 2006;168:176?83.
    6. Kuiken T, Rimmelzwaan G, van Riel D, van Amerongen G, Baars M, Fouchier R, et al. Avian H5N1 influenza in cats. Science. 2004;306:241.
    7. Spackman E, Senne DA, Myers TJ, Bulaga LL, Garber LP, Prdue ML, et al. Development of a real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assay for type A influenza virus and the avian H5 and H7 hemagglutinin subtypes. J Clin Microbiol. 2002;40:3256?60.
    8. World Health Organization Global Influenza Program Surveillance Network. Evolution of H5N1 avian influenza viruses in Asia. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005;11:1515?21.
    9. Chen H, Smith GJD. LI KS, Wang J, Fan XH, Rayner JM, et al. Establishment of multiple sublineages of H5N1 influenza virus in Asia: implications for pandemic control. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006;103:2845?50.

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  • #2
    Re: Qinghai-like H5N1 from Domestic Cats, Northern Iraq

    I'm still waiting to hear of someone testing the mice in regions of H5N1 cat deaths.

    .
    "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

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    • #3
      Re: Qinghai-like H5N1 from Domestic Cats, Northern Iraq

      This post is for the purpose of informing for the purpose of preparation, not alarming--I just wanted to point something out regarding this article about cat infections in the Euphrates River areas of Turkey and Iraq. It is true that the focus has been on pigs regarding recombination, but the most serious and underrecognized recombination danger is actually (in my opinion) in cats. Cats are remarkable and critical to the development of a pandemic strain. Why, you ask?.

      1) They are ubiquitous and live at high concentrations in all areas, regions and countries that people live.
      2) They live in close proximity to people, often as pets, and also are feral, and interact socially with each other, and often coming into contact, albeit briefly, with the other extremely vulnerable worldwide population of dogs/horses.
      3) Whether or not they are pets or feral, they continuously pursue mice and birds for food, and in poorer countries are continuously fed dead chicken, etc., as the cheapest meat available for them.
      4) They have efficient cat-cat transmission, as was seen in Thailand.
      5) In Indonesia, they carry the sequence most closely linked to human infections.
      6) Their respiratory system, binding sites, and structure is more closely related to humans than to any other mammals except for primates. It is for this reason that they have even been recommended as the number one choice for the study of H5N1 infections in people.
      7) One of the indications that they are being infected in large numbers is to simply observe the news regarding wild cats in India and Pakistan over the last 2 years--the population of tigers, panthers, and leapords, both in the wild and in zoos has been crashing. Some estimates are that hundreds of these endangered animals have been dying suddenly throughout the subcontinent. The symptoms described for them often have included pneumonia, fever, and bleeding from the nose and mouth (a classic bird flu finding that I will explain the reason for some other time). Nevertheless, the reasons for the decline in their population size has always been blamed on poaching. I quote below a couple of articles as examples of what I'm saying.

      This is terribly concerning--because if cats experience the most human-like infections, then wherever cats are becoming infected in large enough numbers, possibilities for recombination are very much there. Additionally, if cats are affected in the same way and become able to transmit to humans as effectively as to cats, an ultimately likely scenario, it changes the calculations of the rate of spread and networking of a pandemic virus. If one uses the example of the US, with a population of 270 million people, the cat population is estimated to be 100-200 million, with at least 40 to 60 million of them being feral, ~50 million of them owned cats that spend most of their time outdoors, and the remainder indoor cats. This essentially instantly almost doubles the population density of humans in the US--resulting in a much faster spread than current computer programs are allowing for.

      Posted on 07 May 2006 # IANS
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      Male tiger found dead
      Bhopal: A young male tiger was found dead in Madhya Pradesh's Panna National Park, making wildlife officials suspect that poachers could still be active in the sanctuary.

      The carcass of the one-and-a-half-year-old tiger was sighted Friday by a forest guard who informed his seniors. Officials attributed the feline's death to an attack by another strong tiger.

      Doctors and park officials say the death was not due to poaching as the tiger's body was "intact" - no parts had been pulled out. Wildlife activists say this is not enough to reach this conclusion.

      "There are chances that the killers were waiting for the right time to take away the dead animal," an activist claimed. Nevertheless, the carcass was cremated in the presence of officials and the media.

      The Panna National Park, the second biggest in the state after Kanha, was in the news last year when a wildlife biologist, M. Raghu Chundawat, revealed that four of the six tigers on which his team had put radio collars were missing, and nine out of another 11 tigers that he was tracking were untraceable.

      Chundawat, who had made the national park his home for over nine years to study the behaviour of the feline predators, no longer lives here. After he went public with the startling revelations about the missing tigers, his house inside the park was demolished by the government, which termed his findings a "hoax".

      The government maintains there are 34 tigers in Panna. But a Supreme Court-appointed committee, in its report, voiced fear of "Panna going the Sariska way unless some urgent steps were taken".

      Following the warning, combing operations were launched in Panna. Though no tiger remains were seized, the operation yielded equipment like iron snare and electricity cables, used for catching tigers.
      http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?a...llnews&id=56895

      Two tigers feared poisoned to death in Assam park

      Home > News > India News
      Posted on 25 Nov 2005 # IANS
      Two tigers feared poisoned to death in Assam park

      Guwahati: Two adult tigers have died at a wildlife sanctuary in Assam, triggering fears of either locals poisoning the big cats or a possible viral attack in the park.

      A forest department spokesperson said the carcasses of the two endangered Royal Bengal tigers were recovered from the Orang National Park, 150 km north of Assam's main city of Guwahati.

      "The bodies of the two full-grown male tigers were found lying inside the park and we have sent the viscera and other organs for forensic tests to pinpoint the cause of the deaths," park warden S. Momin told IANS by telephone from Orang.

      The results of the forensic tests are expected to take at least a week to be known.

      The tiger population at Orang is estimated to be about 20 according to the latest state wildlife census. One of the dead tigers measured nine ft, seven inches and was found bleeding from the nose.

      "A buffalo carcass was found near one of the dead tigers, while the body of the other tiger was recovered a day later (Tuesday) a few km away," Momin said.

      "Preliminary investigations indicate the tigers might have died as a result of poisoning as there were no injury marks on them. We have ruled out the tigers dying a natural death or due to any poaching."

      The warden said crows and vultures were near the buffalo carcass but did not touch it.

      "It is strongly suspected that some toxic chemicals or poison was sprayed on the buffalo carcass and so the birds did not feast on it. Maybe the two tigers preyed on the dead animal without realising anything," Momin said.

      Wildlife officials are planning to arrest three local villagers suspected of poisoning the tigers.

      "Locals residing in the periphery of the park have recently complained of tigers entering their villages and killing several cows and buffaloes," said a park ranger.

      "It could be possible that locals wanted to take revenge on the tigers and so poisoned them by mixing chemicals or pesticides in the buffalo carcass."

      "We are keeping a close watch on the animals as there could be an outbreak of some viral diseases inside the park," Momin said.

      Poisoning of wild animals by locals has become cause for serious concern. Two years ago, angry villagers living along the Nameri National Park in northern Assam had poisoned to death at least 20 wild Asiatic elephants. Forensic experts later confirmed the presence of a highly toxic pesticide on the carcasses.

      Wildlife rangers said villagers had killed more than 200 elephants in Assam during the past five years, some of which were brought down with poisoned-tipped arrows.

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      • #4
        Re: Qinghai-like H5N1 from Domestic Cats, Northern Iraq

        http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03...Sequences.html

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