Earliest Detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5) in Mississippi Flyway Wild Waterfowl, 2022 Available to Purchase

In January 2022, highly pathogenic (HP) clade 2.3.4.4b A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996-lineage H5N1 influenza A viruses were detected and confirmed in 19 of 68 (27.9%) live-trapped migratory waterfowl in a western Tennessee national wildlife refuge. Genetic analysis indicated that all the detected viruses were and closely related and belonged to genotype A1. To our knowledge, these represent the first reported detections of HP H5N1 in wild birds in the U.S. Mississippi Flyway since their incursion into North America via wild birds in late 2021.