http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/13/10/pdfs/06-1552.pdf
Super-Sentinel Chickens and Detection of
Low-Pathogenicity Influenza Virus
Philip I. Marcus,* Theodore Girshick,? Louis van der Heide,* and Margaret J. Sekellick*
*University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA; and ?Charles River Specific Pathogen Free Avian Supplies,
Storrs, Connecticut, USA
Chicken interferon-α administered perorally in drinking water acts on the oropharyngeal mucosal system
as an adjuvant that causes chickens to rapidly seroconvert after natural infection by low-pathogenicity
Influenza virus. These chickens, termed super sentinels, can serve as sensitive early detectors of
clinically inapparent infections.
Early detection of low-pathogenicity type A influenza virus (LPAI) circulating among
chickens is important for 3 reasons: 1) these are the most prevalent strains in nature and can
cause substantial losses for commercial poultry producers (1), 2) these strains can contribute
genetic material to high-pathogenicity type A influenza virus (HPAI) (2), and 3) the H5 and H7
LPAI strains can mutate to HPAI with catastrophic effects in birds, and with the potential for
transmission to humans with lethal consequences (3). Kuiken et al. reported that an HPAI
(H7N7) isolate was observed in February 2003 in the Netherlands, which most likely originated
in free-living ducks and had evolved into a highly pathogenic variant after introduction into
poultry farms (4). Although subsequent serologic screening of poultry showed that the H7
influenza virus had been affecting the Dutch poultry industry several months before the major
epidemic, its presence had not been recognized (4). Our study addresses this problem by using a
novel method that causes chickens to seroconvert under conditions in which LPAI would
otherwise go undetected. This report shows that recombinant chicken interferon-α (rChIFN-α)
Page 2 of 8
(5) administered perorally in drinking water (6) acts as an adjuvant to produce a super-sentinel
chicken that is a sensitive and early detector of clinically inapparent LPAI.
Super-Sentinel Chickens and Detection of
Low-Pathogenicity Influenza Virus
Philip I. Marcus,* Theodore Girshick,? Louis van der Heide,* and Margaret J. Sekellick*
*University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA; and ?Charles River Specific Pathogen Free Avian Supplies,
Storrs, Connecticut, USA
Chicken interferon-α administered perorally in drinking water acts on the oropharyngeal mucosal system
as an adjuvant that causes chickens to rapidly seroconvert after natural infection by low-pathogenicity
Influenza virus. These chickens, termed super sentinels, can serve as sensitive early detectors of
clinically inapparent infections.
Early detection of low-pathogenicity type A influenza virus (LPAI) circulating among
chickens is important for 3 reasons: 1) these are the most prevalent strains in nature and can
cause substantial losses for commercial poultry producers (1), 2) these strains can contribute
genetic material to high-pathogenicity type A influenza virus (HPAI) (2), and 3) the H5 and H7
LPAI strains can mutate to HPAI with catastrophic effects in birds, and with the potential for
transmission to humans with lethal consequences (3). Kuiken et al. reported that an HPAI
(H7N7) isolate was observed in February 2003 in the Netherlands, which most likely originated
in free-living ducks and had evolved into a highly pathogenic variant after introduction into
poultry farms (4). Although subsequent serologic screening of poultry showed that the H7
influenza virus had been affecting the Dutch poultry industry several months before the major
epidemic, its presence had not been recognized (4). Our study addresses this problem by using a
novel method that causes chickens to seroconvert under conditions in which LPAI would
otherwise go undetected. This report shows that recombinant chicken interferon-α (rChIFN-α)
Page 2 of 8
(5) administered perorally in drinking water (6) acts as an adjuvant to produce a super-sentinel
chicken that is a sensitive and early detector of clinically inapparent LPAI.