Neurotropic Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus in Red Foxes, Northern Germany
Christine Baechlein, Sven Kleinschmidt, Dorothee Hartmann, Patricia Kammeyer, Anne Wöhlke, Tobias Warmann, Louise Herms, Bianca Kühl, Andreas Beineke, Peter Wohlsein, Timm Harder, Martin Runge
Abstract
In a 1-year survey of wild terrestrial predators in northern Germany, we found that 5 of 110 foxes were infected with contemporary avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses, forming a temporal cluster during January‒March 2023. Encephalitis and strong cerebral virus replication but only sporadic mammalian-adaptive viral polymerase basic 2 protein E627K mutations were seen.
Topics & Concepts
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1VirologyBiologyVirusHighly pathogenicInfluenza A virusViral replicationEncephalitisInfluenza Virus Research StudiesVirology and Viral DiseasesAnimal Disease Management and Epidemiology