tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Virology
. 2026 Jun 17:623:111014.
doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2026.111014. Online ahead of print.
Rapid GeneXpert surveillance of influenza A virus in seabirds and the environment provides early warning for wildlife health in Aotearoa New Zealand
Lia Heremia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hoani Langsbury[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jackson Treece[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Allison K Miller[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Stephanie J Waller[SUP] 1 [/SUP], James Ussher[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Libby Manning[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Christine Cleave[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zach Barford[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Laura Findlay[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kate Cameron[SUP] 2 [/SUP], David Micheal[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Aliguna Aliguna[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Tabitha Mason[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Bella O'Connor[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Steven G Badman[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Neil J Gemmell[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jemma L Geoghegan[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Jo-Ann L Stanton[SUP] 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
The global expansion of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus A(H5N1) underscores the need for rapid surveillance at high-risk wildlife interfaces. Taiaroa Head (45.7828° S, 170.7333° E) in the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand hosts a plethora of aquatic wildlife including a large red-billed gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus) colony as well as the only mainland breeding colony of northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi). The Royal Albatross Centre is also a major nature tourism destination, attracting tens of thousands of visitors annually, thereby creating a dense ecological and human-wildlife interface vulnerable to viral incursion. We evaluated the GeneXpert II platform using the Xpert® Xpress Flu/RSV cartridge as a field-deployable tool for avian influenza virus detection in environmental and wildlife-associated samples. The assay detected synthetic influenza A viral RNA and multiple endemic low pathogenic avian influenza virus subtypes (A(H3N8), A(H1N9), A(H5N2) and A(H7N7)) circulating in New Zealand birds in controlled spiking experiments. Influenza A virus was reliably identified in spiked environmental water samples with no consistent RT-qPCR inhibition as well as naturally occurring avian influenza virus in duck pond water. Field deployment demonstrated that the system could be operated by non-laboratory personnel with minimal training in a non-clinical setting. This study establishes the feasibility of near-real-time environmental monitoring. Repurposing clinical cartridge-based point-of-care diagnostics offers a practical early warning approach for avian influenza virus surveillance at ecologically and economically significant locations.
Keywords: Avian influenza A virus; Environmental surveillance; GeneXpert; Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI); Point-of-care diagnostics; Wildlife sentinel systems.
. 2026 Jun 17:623:111014.
doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2026.111014. Online ahead of print.
Rapid GeneXpert surveillance of influenza A virus in seabirds and the environment provides early warning for wildlife health in Aotearoa New Zealand
Lia Heremia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hoani Langsbury[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jackson Treece[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Allison K Miller[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Stephanie J Waller[SUP] 1 [/SUP], James Ussher[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Libby Manning[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Christine Cleave[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zach Barford[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Laura Findlay[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kate Cameron[SUP] 2 [/SUP], David Micheal[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Aliguna Aliguna[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Tabitha Mason[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Bella O'Connor[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Steven G Badman[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Neil J Gemmell[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jemma L Geoghegan[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Jo-Ann L Stanton[SUP] 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 42322875
- DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2026.111014
The global expansion of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus A(H5N1) underscores the need for rapid surveillance at high-risk wildlife interfaces. Taiaroa Head (45.7828° S, 170.7333° E) in the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand hosts a plethora of aquatic wildlife including a large red-billed gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus) colony as well as the only mainland breeding colony of northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi). The Royal Albatross Centre is also a major nature tourism destination, attracting tens of thousands of visitors annually, thereby creating a dense ecological and human-wildlife interface vulnerable to viral incursion. We evaluated the GeneXpert II platform using the Xpert® Xpress Flu/RSV cartridge as a field-deployable tool for avian influenza virus detection in environmental and wildlife-associated samples. The assay detected synthetic influenza A viral RNA and multiple endemic low pathogenic avian influenza virus subtypes (A(H3N8), A(H1N9), A(H5N2) and A(H7N7)) circulating in New Zealand birds in controlled spiking experiments. Influenza A virus was reliably identified in spiked environmental water samples with no consistent RT-qPCR inhibition as well as naturally occurring avian influenza virus in duck pond water. Field deployment demonstrated that the system could be operated by non-laboratory personnel with minimal training in a non-clinical setting. This study establishes the feasibility of near-real-time environmental monitoring. Repurposing clinical cartridge-based point-of-care diagnostics offers a practical early warning approach for avian influenza virus surveillance at ecologically and economically significant locations.
Keywords: Avian influenza A virus; Environmental surveillance; GeneXpert; Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI); Point-of-care diagnostics; Wildlife sentinel systems.