Hunting for bird flu in the mud: genomic surveillance of avian influenza viruses using environmental specimens from wetland habitats

Summary: Avian influenza viruses cause costly outbreaks in poultry and they pose a perennial pandemic threat to humans. In this Grand Rounds session, Dr. Kevin Kuchinski will present a new approach to avian influenza surveillance developed by collaborators at the BCCDC and the BC Ministry of Agriculture. This approach is based on genomic sequencing of sediment from wild bird habitats. These specimens are easily-collected, and they are thought to contain a broad diversity of avian influenza viruses, including those excreted by rare and cautious avian species that currently escape surveillance. Dr. Kuchinski will share data from the last two surveillance seasons, demonstrating how environmental genomics enabled the detection of diverse avian influenza viruses, including the H5N1 lineage responsible for on-going poultry outbreaks and increasingly concerning spillovers into mammals. He will also briefly discuss how these technologies can be broadly applied to surveillance of other important viral pathogens. Presenters: Dr. Kevin Kuchinski recently completed his PhD in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia. His research was conducted at the BC Centre for Disease Control under the supervision of Dr. Natalie Prystajecky. His work focuses on the development of new laboratory techniques and bioinformatic tools for sequencing diverse viruses in challenging specimens.

Mediasite Presenter

10/3/2023 7:00:00 PM