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Lookup NU author(s): Ibrahim Alfarwi, Dr Chris RedfernORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife International. In 2022, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b became enzootic and caused mass mortality in Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis and other seabird species across north-western Europe. We present data on the characteristics of the spread of the virus between and within breeding colonies and the number of dead adult Sandwich Terns recorded at breeding sites throughout north-western Europe. Within two months of the first reported mortalities, 20,531 adult Sandwich Terns were found dead, which is >17% of the total north-western European breeding population. This is probably an under-representation of total mortality, as many carcasses are likely to have gone unnoticed and unreported. Within affected colonies, almost all chicks died. After the peak of the outbreak, in a colony established by late breeders, 25.7% of tested adults showed immunity to HPAI subtype H5. Removal of carcasses was associated with lower levels of mortality at affected colonies. More research on the sources and modes of transmission, incubation times, effective containment, and immunity is urgently needed to combat this major threat for colonial seabirds.
Author(s): Knief U, Bregnballe T, Alfarwi I, Ballmann MZ, Brenninkmeijer A, Bzoma S, Chabrolle A, Dimmlich J, Engel E, Fijn R, Fischer K, Halterlein B, Haupt M, Hennig V, Herrmann C, In 'T Veld R, Kirchhoff E, Kristersson M, Kuhn S, Larsson K, Larsson R, Lawton N, Leopold M, Lilipaly S, Lock L, Marty R, Matheve H, Meissner Wl, Morrison P, Newton S, Olofsson P, Packmor F, Pedersen KT, Redfern C, Scarton F, Schenk F, Scher O, Serra L, Sibille A, Smith J, Smith W, Sterup J, Stienen E, Strassner V, Valle RG, Van Bemmelen RSA, Veen J, Vervaeke M, Weston E, Wojcieszek M, Courtens W
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Bird Conservation International
Year: 2024
Volume: 34
Online publication date: 02/02/2024
Acceptance date: 27/11/2023
Date deposited: 02/02/2024
ISSN (print): 0959-2709
ISSN (electronic): 1474-0001
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270923000400
DOI: 10.1017/S0959270923000400
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