SURVEILLANCE IN 2013 OF AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS FROM LIVE-BIRD MARKETS IN BANGKOK, THAILAND.
Nitipan TantawiwattananonTippa ChiangsonKamolphan RattanavibulVerachai SakdajiwajaroenSopon IamsirithawornLadawan SuanngamSarintorn SonthisirikritBundit NuansrichayBencharong SangkharakPrateep RojanadilokPawin PadungtodPublished in: The Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health (2018)
Live-bird markets have been implicated in transmission of avian influenza
viruses, most recently of influenza A (H7N9) in China. Low pathogenic avian
influenza (LPAI) viruses, such as H7N9, cause asymptomatic infections in poultry,
and active surveillance is required to detect infection and to prevent transmission
to humans. Although limited numbers of live birds for consumption are sold in
Bangkok live bird markets (LBM), transmission of H7N9 in nearby China has
prompted a program of active surveillance for avian influenza in Bangkok LBM to
determine LPAI viruses. In November 2013, Bangkok One Health team organized
avian influenza surveillance in all nine districts of Bangkok with LBMs. Oropharyngeal
swabs (n = 834), sera (n = 375) and fresh feces (n = 420) were taken from
400 chickens, 20 ducks, 20 geese and 394 pet birds from 75/87 shops. Additionally,
drinking water (n = 208) and waste water (n = 26) were collected. Samples were
tested for influenza A viruses using RT-PCR. In addition, samples were inoculated
in eggs and tested by hemagglutination (HA) and hemagglutination inhibition
(HI) assays using H5N1- and H7N9-specific antigens. Sera were tested by HI assay
using similar antigens. No sample was found positive for influenza A virus.
These data provide evidence that avian influenza viruses, including LPAI viruses
such as H7N9, were not circulating in Bangkok LBMs during the period surveyed.