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Volume 30, Number 6—June 2024

Research

Outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus in Seals, St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec, Canada1

Stéphane LairComments to Author , Louise Quesnel, Anthony V. Signore, Pauline Delnatte, Carissa Embury-Hyatt, Marie-Soleil Nadeau, Oliver Lung, Shannon T. Ferrell, Robert Michaud, and Yohannes Berhane
Author affiliations: Université de Montréal, St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada (S. Lair, L. Quesnel, P. Delnatte, S.T. Ferrell); Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (A.V. Signore, C. Embury-Hyatt, O. Lung, Y. Berhane); Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Quebec, St. Hyacinthe (M.-S. Nadeau); Groupe de recherche et d’éducation sur les mammifères marins, Tadoussac, Quebec, Canada (R. Michaud).

Main Article

Table 1

Percentages of stranded seals tested that were infected by HPAI A(H5N1) in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec, Canada, April 22–October 6, 2022*

Species and sampling % Infected (no. infected†/no. tested)
Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)
Full postmortem examination 64 (14/22)
Nasal/rectal field swab 55 (6/11)
Total
 61 (20/33)
Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
Full postmortem examination 33 (1/3)
Nasal/rectal field swab 0 (0/1)
Total
 25 (1/4)
Hooded seal (Cystophora cristata)
Full postmortem examination
 0 (0/1)
Harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus)
Full postmortem examination
 0 (0/1)
Total pinnipeds
Full postmortem examination 56 (15/27)
Nasal/rectal field swab 50 (6/12)
Total 54 (21/39)

*Postmortem and field swab samples were from different individual strandings. HPAI, highly pathogenic avian influenza. †Infections were determined on the basis of epidemiologic data, presence of suggestive lesions, and PCR testing using H5-specific primers.

Main Article

1Preliminary results from this study were presented at the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine Conference, May 24, 2023, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Page created: April 23, 2024
Page updated: May 22, 2024
Page reviewed: May 22, 2024
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