Influenza A virus: sampling of the unique shorebird habitat at Delaware Bay, USA.

Delaware (DE) Bay, in the northeastern USA, has long been recognized as a hotspot for avian influenza A virus (IAV); every spring, this coastal region serves as a brief stopover site for thousands of long-distance migrating shorebirds, en route to breeding grounds in the Arctic. During these stopovers, IAV has been consistently recovered from ruddy turnstones () that are likely to become infected as they feed by probing sand and cobble in search of food. In May 2010-2012, we successfully isolated 19 IAV from environmental samples (sand, = 18; horseshoe crab eggs, = 1) obtained from DE Bay sites.

Are passerine birds reservoirs for influenza A viruses?

Abstract Although peridomestic passerine species have been involved in influenza A virus (IAV) outbreaks in poultry, there is little evidence to indicate they serve as reservoirs for these viruses under natural conditions. Recent molecular-based detections of IAV in terrestrial wild birds have challenged this paradigm, and it has been suggested that additional research is warranted to better define the role of these birds as IAV hosts. To address this need, we reviewed the published literature reporting results from IAV surveillance of passerines.

Isolation of influenza A viruses from wild ducks and feathers in Minnesota (2010-2011).

We investigated the feasibility of testing feathers as a complementary approach to detect low pathogenic influenza A viruses (IAVs) in wild duck populations. Feathers on the ground were collected at four duck capture sites during 2010 and 2011, in Minnesota, U. S.

Localised retinal vasculitis in cat scratch disease.

We report an atypical presentation of ocular cat scratch disease (CSD) in an 8-year-old Caucasian male who presented with localised retinal arterial vasculitis and associated retinal oedema. His history of headaches, frequent contact with a kitten and a high Bartonella henslelae titre confirmed the diagnosis of CSD. Over an 18-month follow-up period, his best corrected visual acuity in the affected eye improved from 20/30-2 to 20/25+3 without treatment; however, the affected retinal artery remained sheathed.