Grant: Catalyst Grant: Avian Influenza OneHealth Research

The emergence of a H5N1 influenza virus in wild birds, dairy cattle and most recently in humans in the US has raised important concerns about our ability in Canada to identify, monitor and prevent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). To safeguard wildlife, livestock and Canadians against a HPAI epidemic or pandemic, a One Health real-time, reliable, accurate, pan-Canadian surveillance system is necessary. Traditionally, influenza A virus (IAV) surveillance relied mainly on direct isolation of the virus from migratory birds (virus reservoir), or in humans. However, this method is labor intensive, time-consuming, and does not allow the emergence of the virus to be predicted. In contrast, wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) is an effective and non-invasive tool for early detection and monitoring of pathogens. Even though many Canadian institutions currently have methods in place for the detection of HPAI in environmental and wastewater samples, they remain quite distinct from one another and require evaluation and optimization. Furthermore, there are no comprehensive studies analyzing H5N1 IAV at the migratory wild bird-farm animal-human interface, where generation of pandemic viruses is thought to occur. The main objective of this research is thus to evaluate, optimize and harmonize WES sampling, storage and analytical methods to measure HPAI in wetland samples along migratory wild bird pathways along with livestock and municipal wastewater samples, hence at the migratory wild bird-farm animal-human interface, to generate One Health, high-quality, interoperable data and provide the foundational knowledge necessary to implement a pan-Canadian, rapid, real-time surveillance system. In addition, this research will provide new information about the biology of the virus, drivers of spillover, spread and emergence of IAV.