Novel coronavirus and astrovirus in Delaware Bay shorebirds.

Novel coronavirus and astrovirus in Delaware Bay shorebirds.

Kirsi S. Honkavuori, Thomas Briese, Scott Krauss, Maria D Sanchez, Komal Jain, Stephen K. Hutchison, Robert G. Webster, W. Ian Lipkin

Wild birds are an important but to some extent under-studied reservoir for emerging pathogens. We used unbiased sequencing methods for virus discovery in shorebird samples from the Delaware Bay, USA; an important feeding ground for thousands of migratory birds.Analysis of shorebird fecal samples indicated the presence of a novel astrovirus and coronavirus. A sanderling sample yielded sequences with distant homology to avian nephritis virus 1, an astrovirus associated with acute nephritis in poultry. A ruddy turnstone sample yielded sequences with homology to deltacoronaviruses.Our findings highlight shorebirds as a virus reservoir and the need to closely monitor wild bird populations for the emergence of novel virus variants.

2014

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093395

PLoS ONE

Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Science, Medicine

EN