Surveillance of avian influenza through bird guano in remote regions of the global south to uncover transmission dynamics

Abstract

Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) pose a growing global health threat, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where limited surveillance capacity and under-resourced healthcare systems hinder timely detection and response. Migratory birds play a significant role in the transboundary spread of AIVs, yet data from key regions along migratory flyways remain sparse. To address these surveillance gaps, we conducted a study between December 2021 and February 2023 using fresh bird guano collected across 10 countries in the Global South. Here, we show that remote, uninhabited regions in previously unsampled areas harbor a high diversity of AIV strains, with H5N1 emerging as the most prevalent. Some of these H5N1 samples also carry mutations that may make them less responsive to the antiviral drug oseltamivir. Our findings documented the presence of AIVs in several underrepresented regions and highlighted critical transmission hotspots where viral evolution may be accelerating. These results underscore the urgent need for geographically targeted surveillance to detect emerging variants, inform public health interventions, and reduce the risk of zoonotic spillover.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Wannigama, D.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6316-1221 Amarasiri, M. Phattharapornjaroen, P. Hurst, C. Modchang, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0739-006X Besa, J.J.V. Miyanaga, K. Cui, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8909-3885 Fernandez, S. Huang, A.T. Ounjai, P. Werawatte, W.K.C.P. Rad S. M, A.H. Vatanaprasan, P. Jay, D.J. Saethang, T. Luk-in, S. Kanthawee, P. Thuptimdang, W. Tacharoenmuang, R. Cynthia, B. Vitharana, S.P.H.S. https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9424-451X Ngamwongsatit, N. Ishikawa, H. Furukawa, T. Wang, Y. Singer, A.C. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4705-6063 Ragupathi, N.K.D. Chatsuwan, T. Sei, K. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0684-6002 Nanbo, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8764-1350 Leelahavanichkul, A. Kanjanabuch, T. Hamamoto, H. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9315-7442 Higgins, P.G. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8677-9454 Sano, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8075-6972 Kicic, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0008-9733 Valdebenito, J.O. Bonnedahl, J. Trowsdale, S. Hongsing, P. Khatib, A. Shibuya, K. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2528-7530 Abe, S.
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Keywords:	Animal migration; Epidemiology; Influenza virus; Microbial ecology; Viral infection
Dates:	Accepted: 17 April 2025 Published (online): 27 May 2025 Published: 27 May 2025
Institution:	The University of Sheffield
Academic Units:	The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Sheffield)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Sheffield
Date Deposited:	03 Jun 2025 11:58
Last Modified:	03 Jun 2025 11:58
Status:	Published
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1038/s41467-025-59322-z
Sustainable Development Goals:
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:227310

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Surveillance of avian influenza through bird guano in remote regions of the global south to uncover transmission dynamics

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