#Chile - #Influenza A #H5N1 viruses of high pathogenicity (Inf. with) (non-poultry including wild birds) (2017-) - Immediate notification

All [Backyard] birds at the site were culled; surveillance measures continue in the control zone. [Region: Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins]

Source: 

Link: https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/7400

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#Chile - #Influenza A #H5N1 viruses of high pathogenicity (Inf. with) (non-poultry including wild birds) (2017-) - Immediate notification

{Magallanes y Antártica Chilena} All the birds were culled. At this time, the SAG is on the field implementing all surveillance measures in the control zone.

Source: 

Link: https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/7402

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#Chile - High pathogenicity avian #influenza #H5N1 viruses (Inf. with) (#poultry) - Immediate notification

 

This incident is occurring in the Maule Region, in the municipality of San Rafael, on a recreational property where two owners are responsible for the total number of birds reported. All of the birds will be humanely culled, and the carcasses will be buried on the property under strict biosecurity measures.

Source: 

Link: https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/7405

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#Chile - #Influenza A #H5N1 viruses of high pathogenicity (Inf. with) (non-poultry including wild birds) (2017-) - Immediate notification

{Valparaíso} The birds shared a pond with wild birds. All birds were culled and buried on the property under strict biosecurity protocols. Cleaning and disinfection measures are being carried out.

Source: 

Link: https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/7357

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#Chile - #Influenza A #H5N1 viruses of high pathogenicity (Inf. with) (non-poultry including wild birds) (2017-) - Immediate notification

 

Fourteen Coscoroba Swans in the Región de Valparaíso, Comuna Santo Domingo.

Source: 

Link: https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/7336

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History of Mass Transportation: The Brissonneau et Lotz Diesel Locomotive D-7122 (1962)

 

By CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54482587

At the Llolleo train station, very close to the port of San Antonio in the Valparaíso Region, we see the Train of Memories, pulled by two diesel locomotives (D-7122 and D-16012). The first, D-7122, is French, from Brissonneau et Lotz, built in 1962. LLO-LLEO = Llolleo. San Antonio Conurbation.

Source: 

Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Brissonneau_et_Lotz_locomotives

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History of Mass Transportation: The Brissonneau et Lotz D7122 Diesel Locomotive

 

By CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54505585

Source: WikiMedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alameda_o_Estaci%C3%B3n_Central_de_Santiago_de_Chile,_con_el_Tren_del_Recuerdo_a_la_derecha.jpg

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Circulation and #Spillover of #H1N1pdm09 #Influenza A Virus at an Educational #Swine #Farm in #Chile, 2019–2023

Abstract

Educational farms provide students with hands-on experience in agricultural and animal practices. However, the close contact between humans and farm animals creates a significant interface for zoonotic disease transmission, yet research on infectious diseases in such settings remains limited. This study investigates the ongoing spillovers of human-origin influenza A virus (IAV) into swine at an educational farm in central Chile, describing IAV prevalence, outbreak dynamics, and the genomic characterization of detected strains. The Menesianos educational farm, located in Melipilla, central Chile, houses approximately 40 swine alongside other domestic animals, such as horses and cows. As part of an active IAV surveillance project, monthly nasal swab samples were collected from pigs between June 2019 and September 2023 for IAV detection via RT-qPCR targeting the M gene, with positive samples subsequently sequenced. During the study period, monthly IAV prevalence ranged from 0% to 52.5%, with a notable outbreak detected between May and June 2023. The outbreak lasted 5 weeks, peaking at 52.5% prevalence during week 3. Nine IAV strains were isolated over the study period, eight of which were obtained during weeks 2 and 3 of the outbreak. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all strains were closely related to the pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza virus, with the closest related strains being those circulating in humans in Chile during the same years. These findings highlight the importance of conducting regular IAV surveillance on educational farms, where close interactions between animals and individuals—particularly children and young people—can facilitate viral spillovers and potential reverse zoonosis events.

Source: Viruses, https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/5/635

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Cross-species and #mammal-to-mammal #transmission of clade 2.3.4.4b highly pathogenic avian #influenza A #H5N1 with #PB2 adaptations

Abstract

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) belonging to lineage 2.3.4.4b emerged in Chile in December 2022, leading to mass mortality events in wild birds, poultry, and marine mammals and one human case. We detected HPAIV in 7,33% (714/9745) of cases between December 2022–April 2023 and sequenced 177 H5N1 virus genomes from poultry, marine mammals, a human, and wild birds spanning >3800 km of Chilean coastline. Chilean viruses were closely related to Peru’s H5N1 outbreak, consistent with north-to-south spread down the Pacific coastline. One human virus and nine marine mammal viruses in Chile had the rare PB2 D701N mammalian-adaptation mutation and clustered phylogenetically despite being sampled 5 weeks and hundreds of kilometers apart. These viruses shared additional genetic signatures, including another mammalian PB2 adaptation (Q591K, n = 6), synonymous mutations, and minor variants. Several mutations were detected months later in sealions in the Atlantic coast, indicating that the pinniped outbreaks on the west and east coasts of South America are genetically linked. These data support sustained mammal-to-mammal transmission of HPAIV in marine mammals over thousands of kilometers of Chile’s Pacific coastline, which subsequently continued through the Atlantic coastline.

Source: Nature Communications, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57338-z

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#Isolation and Characterization of #H1 Subtype #Swine #Influenza Viruses Recently Circulating in #China

Abstract

Pigs serve as a mixing vessel for influenza viruses and can independently promote the emergence of pandemic strains in humans. During our surveillance of pig populations from 2021 to 2023 in China, 11 H1 subtype swine influenza viruses (SIVs) were isolated. All viruses were reassortants, possessing internal genes of identical origins (PB2, PB1, PA, NP, M: pdm09/H1N1 origin, NS: North American triple reassortant origin). The H1N1 isolates were all the dominant G4 EA H1N1 viruses in China. Two H1N2 isolates carried early human pdm09/H1N1 HA genes, suggesting a possible pig-to-human transmission route. Mutations that dictate host range specificity were identified in all isolates, a phenomenon which may enhance the affinity to human receptors. These H1 subtype viruses effectively replicated both in vivo and in vitro without prior adaptation and exhibited different pathogenicity and growth characteristics. Some of the H1 viruses were even found to cause lethal infections in mice. Taken together, our study indicates that the H1 subtype SIVs recently circulating in China pose a potential threat to human health and emphasizes the importance of continuing to closely monitor their evolution and spread.

Source: Viruses, https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/2/185

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Novel introductions of #human-origin #H3N2 #influenza viruses in #swine, #Chile

Abstract

Influenza A virus (IAV) continuously threatens animal and public health globally, with swine serving as a crucial reservoir for viral reassortment and evolution. In Chile, H1N2 and H3N2 subtypes were introduced in the swine population before the H1N1 2009 pandemic, and the H1N1 was introduced from the H1N1pdm09 by successive reverse zoonotic events. Here, we report two novel introductions of IAV H3N2 human-origin in Chilean swine during 2023. Our study reveals a closer relationship between recent human seasonal H3N2 and novel swine strains. Interestingly, one strain maintains all the genes from the original human virus, but the other strain is already a reassortment of human H3N2 and an H1N2 previously observed on the farm. Observing global IAV sequences, a similar pattern was identified in the USA confirming the reverse zoonotic potential of current seasonal human H3N2 strains. These results highlight the importance of ongoing surveillance and reinforcing biosecurity in swine farms. These findings raise questions about their potential impact on viral dynamics in the swine population and public health, underscoring the need for further investigation into the origin and evolutionary dynamics of this emerging swine H3N2 reassortant virus.

Source: Frontiers in Veterinary Medicine, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1505497/full

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