Study of the virome and bacteriome of wild birds naturally infected with avian influenza virus
To increase our knowledge of influenza infection in the host itself and to determine the role of the bacteriome and virome present in birds in the evolution of the infection.
- Project start: June 2021
- End of project: June 2024
- Funding: 2020 call for “R&D&I projects”. Ministry of Science and Innovation
- Budget: 225.660 €
- Partnerts: IRTA-CReSA, SaBio-IREC
Avian influenza causes great losses for the poultry sector. A clear example is the outbreaks that are currently being detected in Europe. In the last month, infection has been detected.
The introduction of influenza viruses into a territory is usually associated mainly with migratory wild birds, so it is common to implement biosecurity measures on farms and it is vital to maintain surveillance programmes for the early detection of possible outbreaks.
But little is known about the mechanisms of resistance/sensitivity to avian influenza infection inherent in the birds themselves.
In addition, it has been confirmed that the composition of bacterial and viral communities has a major effect on the proliferation of specific micro-organisms, some of which are known pathogens for birds or are even zoonotic, potentially affecting humans. In the case of avian influenza it has already been shown that birds infected with the virus could also be infected to a greater extent with agents such as salmonella or mycobacteria.
It is therefore necessary to increase our knowledge of influenza infection in the host itself and to determine the role of the bacteriome and virome present in birds in the evolution of the infection.
In order to deepen this topic from the Ministry of Science and Innovation, State Program of R + D + i Oriented to the Challenges of Society have granted the INFLUOMA project; coordinated by NEIKER and with the collaboration of IRTA-CReSA and the SaBio-IREC group.
The general objective of the subproject led by NEIKER is to characterize influenza coinfections with other respiratory and digestive viruses and bacteria in wild birds, through metagenomic study. The specific objectives are:
- Determine the normal microbiota in the selected wild bird species.
- Verify differences in the microbiota taking into account different factors such as habitat in the selected wild bird species.
- Verify if avian influenza infection enhances co-infection with other bacteria or viruses that are pathogenic for animals or people
PID2020-114060RR-C31 project. Funded by MCIN/ AEI /10.13039/501100011033
