Research Structure

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INTRODUCTION
Our long-term goal is to develop knowledge-based integrated approaches to detect, control and prevent the emergence of influenza viruses in avian species of economic importance. Aquatic birds are the primary reservoir of influenza A viruses. Often, some of these viruses cross the species barrier infecting non-natural hosts such as land-based poultry including chickens, turkeys, quail, guinea fowl, chukar, among others, without overt clinical signs. However, for reasons that are still poorly understood, influenza viruses circulating in land-based poultry can increase their virulence and cause important economic losses due to mortality and trade restrictions. The molecular mechanisms that lead to the emergence of influenza viruses in land-based poultry are poorly understood, however their consequences are well known by all, e.g. farmers, the poultry industry, government officials, and scientists. Poultry production in the US has increased from 3 billion to 7 billion broilers since the 1960s, becoming the most important source of meat protein in the human diet in many countries around the world. US poultry production amounts to approximately 18% of total world production. Effective detection, control and prevention of avian influenza are of the utmost importance to maintain the US leadership in world poultry product markets and such efforts will make a significant contribution towards national food security. These goals cannot be accomplished without solid scientific knowledge of the molecular and epizootiological bases for the interspecies transmission of influenza A viruses including the factors contributing to high virulence in poultry. To be useful this knowledge needs to be developed in the context of the actual production scenarios. We propose to develop reagents, technologies, and human resources aimed at detection and eradication of influenza from economically important poultry species. Furthermore, highly pathogenic avian influenza may pose a threat to public health, as evidenced by the direct transmission of H5 and H7 influenza A viruses from poultry to humans in Asia and the Netherlands, respectively. Thus, our efforts will also have a major impact on the prevention and control of zoonotic outbreaks of avian influenza. In this application, the efforts of several institutions across the country will concentrate on three major specific aims each containing several objectives:

Specific Aim 1:
Objective 1: To determine the molecular basis for adaptation of influenza A viruses from wild aquatic birds and/or intermediate hosts to land-based poultry, particularly chickens and turkeys.
Objective 2: To determine the molecular parameters for detecting and diagnosing avian influenza viruses in chickens and turkeys affected by co-infections by other common respiratory and immunosuppressive viruses.

Specific Aim 2:
Objective 3: To determine the dynamics and evolution of influenza A viruses in live bird market systems (LBMs) in three areas of the United States.
Objective 4: To determine the dynamics and evolution of influenza A viruses in waterfowl of the four major flyways of the U.S to understand the contribution of these species to the emergence and perpetuation of avian influenza in land-based poultry.
Objective 5: To build effective education and biosecurity programs.
Objective 6: To deliver an educational program on in house euthanasia and composting methods for use in the case of catastrophic mortality or depopulation.

Specific Aim 3:
Objective 7: To develop critical diagnostic tests and,
Objective 8: vaccines for avian influenza control.

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BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE