RAPID: Measuring host competence across wild bird species during outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza

RAPID：测量高致病性禽流感爆发期间野生鸟类的宿主能力

• 批准号: 2234970
• 负责人: Nichola Hill
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: University of Massachusetts Boston
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-15 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2234970&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Measuring; host; competence; across

This RAPID will study the current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in North American birds, focusing on host competence as a way to estimate which species are primary reservoirs and sources. The spread of HPAI in North America in the past year poses catastrophic consequences for the health of wild birds and poultry. The virus can readily jump the species barrier leading to concerns that continued spread of HPAI in animals could start a pandemic in humans. The scale of the current North American outbreak is unprecedented both in terms of the number of infected birds, and the geographic area impacted. This strain of HPAI is a multi-host pathogen that within North America is demonstrating transmission back and forth between wild birds and poultry. The spread of HPAI in the U.S. has involved a wider diversity of birds than previously observed - well beyond the traditional poultry reservoir. There are over 1,000 wild bird species in the U.S. and over 100 species have become infected with HPAI in the last 6 months. Depending on the wild bird species, HPAI can cause disease ranging from mild to severe, or in extreme cases death. A rapid response to the outbreaks is crucial to identify how wild birds are contributing to transmission in the U.S. with the goal of developing models to predict the risk of the virus jumping to novel hosts. Currently there are challenges with predicting how wild birds will influence HPAI transmission due to a lack of information about their host competence, defined as the ability of an individual to become infected and cause infection in other hosts. Characterizing host competence requires a systems approach to unify host traits (disease severity, body condition) and pathogen traits (replication dynamics, pathogen viability). This study will capitalize on an extensive and well-developed network of collaborations with wildlife managers and rehabilitation clinics to ensure sampling of a wide diversity of birds in the North Atlantic, a region that has emerged as a geographic hotspot for HPAI. This study will characterize the range of host competence of wild birds and will integrate ecological and life-history traits of wild birds into models of disease prediction by testing whether aquatic foraging and predation on aquatic species are linked to transmission. Information gained will be critical to develop a mechanistic understanding of HPAI dynamics, allowing for more informed decision-making about animal and human health as the outbreak unfolds.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这一快速将研究北美鸟类中高度致病的禽流感（HPAI）的爆发，重点是宿主能力，以此来估计哪些物种是主要储层和来源。在过去的一年中，HPAI在北美的传播对野生鸟类和家禽的健康造成了灾难性的后果。该病毒可以很容易地跳到物种屏障，导致人们担心动物中HPAI的持续传播可能会在人类中开始大流行。在感染鸟类的数量和地理区域受到影响方面，当前北美爆发的规模都是前所未有的。 HPAI的这种菌株是一种多宿主病原体，在北美内部，在野生鸟类和家禽之间来回传播。 HPAI在美国的传播涉及的鸟类比以前观察到的鸟类多得多 - 远远超出了传统的家禽水库。在过去的6个月中，美国有1,000多种野生鸟类，超过100种被HPAI感染。根据野生鸟类的不同，HPAI会导致疾病，范围从轻度到重度或极端情况下死亡。对暴发的快速反应对于确定野生鸟如何为美国传播做出贡献至关重要，其目的是开发模型以预测病毒跳入新型宿主的风险。当前，由于缺乏有关其宿主能力的信息，预测野生鸟将如何影响HPAI传播的挑战，该信息被定义为个人受感染并在其他宿主中引起感染的能力。表征宿主能力需要采用系统方法来统一宿主特征（疾病严重程度，身体状况）和病原体特征（复制动力学，病原体生存能力）。这项研究将利用与野生动植物经理和康复诊所的广泛且发达的合作网络，以确保北大西洋各种各样的鸟类采样，该地区已成为HPAI的地理热点。这项研究将表征野生鸟类的宿主能力范围，并通过测试水生觅食和对水生物种的捕食是否与传播有关，将野生鸟类的生态和生活创造特征整合到疾病预测模型中。获取的信息对于对HPAI动力学的机械理解至关重要，随着疫情的发展，可以对动物和人类健康进行更明智的决策。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准通过评估来进行评估的。