Detection of a Novel #Gull-like Clade of Newcastle Disease Virus and #H3N8 Avian #Influenza Virus in the #Arctic Region of #Russia (Taimyr Peninsula)
Abstract Wild waterbirds are circulating important RNA viruses, such as avian coronaviruses, avian astroviruses, avian influenza viruses, and avian paramyxoviruses . Waterbird migration routes cover vast territories both within and between continents. The breeding grounds of many species are in the Arctic, but research into this region is rare. This study reports the first Newcastle disease virus (NDV) detection in Arctic Russia . As a result of a five-year study (from 2019 to 2023) of avian paramyxoviruses and avian influenza viruses in wild waterbirds of the Taimyr Peninsula , whole-genome sequences of NDV and H3N8 were obtained . The resulting influenza virus isolate was phylogenetically related to viruses that circulated between 2021 and 2023 in Eurasia, Siberia, and Asia. All NDV sequences were obtained from the Herring gull, and other gull sequences formed a separate gull-like clade in the sub-genotype I.1.2.1, Class II. This may indirectly indicate that different NDV variants ad...