Intensive transmission in wild, migratory birds drove rapid geographic dissemination and repeated spillovers of H5N1 into agriculture in North America.

Since 2022, H5N1 viruses have caused a panzootic in the Americas, with impacts on wildlife, agriculture, and human health. We will present new data using phylodynamic approaches to reconstruct how these viruses were introduced and spread throughout North America. Our findings implicate surveillance in wild, migratory Anseriformes as critical for outbreak reconstruction, and suggest backyard birds as putative early warning indicators for increasing transmission. Presenter: Louise Moncla is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the National Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response: Bovine H5 Outbreak Response Team, World Health Organization Tool for Influenza Pandemic Risk Assessment (TIPRA) Committee, National Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response: Phylodynamics and Risk Assessment Pipeline Working Groups. Louise completed PhD in Microbiology in Tom Friedrich’s lab and a postdoctoral fellowship in Trevor Bedford’s lab.

Mediasite Presenter

11/19/2024 8:00:00 PM