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Background: Since 2005, highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 viruses (Goose/Guangdong/1/96-H5 lineage) have spread from Asia to Africa and Europe, infecting poultry, humans and wild birds. Subsequently, avian influenza surveillance has increased worldwide. Mongolia is a good location to study influenza viruses in wild birds within Asia because the country has very low densities of domestic poultry and supports large concentrations of migratory water birds. We conducted avian influenza surveillance in Mongolia over two time periods from 2009 to 2018, utilizing environmental fecal sampling.Methods: Fresh fecal samples were collected in areas where wild water birds, including orders Anseriformes and Charadriiformes, congregated. Hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) subtypes of positive samples were identified through viral isolation or molecular assays, with pathogenicity determined by HA subtype or sequencing the HA cleavage site.Results: A total of 10,222 samples were collected and tested for avian influenza virus. Of these, 7,025 fecal samples were collected from 2009-2013, and 3,197 fecal samples were collected from 2016-2018 period. Testing revealed 175 (1.7%) positive samples for low pathogenicity influenza A, including 118 samples from 2009-2013 (1.7%) and 57 samples from 2016-2018 (1.8%). Over the period and locations of surveillance no influenza A viruses were detected in association with a wild bird mortality event. HA and NA subtyping of all positives identified eleven subtypes of HA (H1-H8; H10-H12) and nine subtypes of NA (N1-N9) in 29 different combinations. Within periods, viruses were detected more frequently during the fall season (August to October, 2.5%; 95% CI 2.1-2.9%; 146/5,750) than the early summer (April to July, 0.6%; 95% CI 0.4-0.9%; 29/4,472).Conclusion: Mongolia is an important location for wild birds and is positioned as a crossroad of multiple migratory bird flyways. Breeding birds from Mongolia and further north pass through the country to wintering areas as widespread as southern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australasia. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of using an affordable environmental fecal sampling approach for avian influenza surveillance and contributes to understanding the prevalence and ecology of low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses in this important location, where birds from multiple flyways mix.

The 2016–2017 introduction of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) into livestock in Mongolia was followed by mass mortality of the critically endangered Mongolian saiga antelope and other rare wild ungulates. To assess the nature and population effects of this outbreak among wild ungulates, we collected clinical, histopathologic, epidemiologic, and ecological evidence. Molecular characterization confirmed that the causative agent was PPRV lineage IV. The spatiotemporal patterns of cases among wildlife were similar to those among livestock affected by the PPRV outbreak, suggesting spillover of virus from livestock at multiple locations and time points and subsequent spread among wild ungulates. Estimates of saiga abundance suggested a population decline of 80%, raising substantial concerns for the species’ survival. Consideration of the entire ungulate community (wild and domestic) is essential for elucidating the epidemiology of PPRV in Mongolia, addressing the threats to wild ungulate conservation, and achieving global PPRV eradication.

Host-virus associations have co-evolved under ecological and evolutionary selection pressures that shape cross-species transmission and spillover to humans. Observed virus-host associations provide relevant context for newly discovered wildlife viruses to assess knowledge gaps in host range and estimate pathways for potential human infection. Using models to predict virus-host networks, we predicted the likelihood of humans as host for 513 newly discovered viruses detected by large scale wildlife surveillance at high-risk animal-human interfaces in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Predictions indicated that novel coronaviruses are likely to infect a greater number of host species than viruses from other families. Our models further characterize novel viruses through prioritization scores and directly inform surveillance targets to identify host ranges for newly discovered viruses.

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) causes disease in domestic and wild ungulates, is the target of a Global Eradication Programme, and threatens biodiversity. Understanding the epidemiology and evolution of PPRV in wildlife is important but hampered by the paucity of wildlife-origin PPRV genomes. In this study, full PPRV genomes were generated from three Mongolian saiga antelope, one Siberian ibex, and one goitered gazelle from the 2016–2017 PPRV outbreak. Phylogenetic analysis showed that for Mongolian and Chinese PPRV since 2013, the wildlife and livestock-origin genomes were closely related and interspersed. There was strong phylogenetic support for a monophyletic group of PPRV from Mongolian wildlife and livestock, belonging to a clade of lineage IV PPRV from livestock and wildlife from China since 2013. Discrete diffusion analysis found strong support for PPRV spread into Mongolia from China, and phylogeographic analysis indicated Xinjiang Province as the most likely origin, although genomic surveillance for PPRV is poor and lack of sampling from other regions could bias this result. Times of most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) were June 2015 (95 per cent highest posterior density (HPD): August 2014 to March 2016) for all Mongolian PPRV genomes and May 2016 (95 per cent HPD: October 2015 to October 2016) for Mongolian wildlife-origin PPRV. This suggests that PPRV was circulating undetected in Mongolia for at least 6 months before the first reported outbreak in August 2016 and that wildlife were likely infected before livestock vaccination began in October 2016. Finally, genetic variation and positively selected sites were identified that might be related to PPRV emergence in Mongolian wildlife. This study is the first to sequence multiple PPRV genomes from a wildlife outbreak, across several host species. Additional full PPRV genomes and associated metadata from the livestock–wildlife interface are needed to enhance the power of molecular epidemiology, support PPRV eradication, and safeguard the health of the whole ungulate community., Lay Summary Recent mass mortality of critically endangered Mongolian saiga antelope due to peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) has dramatically highlighted the threat this viral disease represents for biodiversity. The genome of viruses such as PPRV evolves fast, so virus genetic data gathered from infected animals can be used to trace disease spread between livestock and wildlife and to determine if the virus is adapting to infect wildlife more efficiently. Here, we obtained PPRV virus genomes from Mongolian wildlife and compared them with other published PPRV genomes. Using a molecular clock, we estimated that the disease was circulating in Mongolia well before it was first reported. Genetic analyses support the hypothesis of virus spread from livestock to wildlife, with genetic changes potentially helping infection in Asian wild ungulates. However, more PPR virus genomes and epidemiology data are needed from disease outbreaks in areas shared between livestock and wildlife to confirm these results and take efficient actions to safeguard the health of the whole ungulate community.

Virus ecology and evolution play a central role in disease emergence. However, their relative roles will vary depending on the viruses and ecosystems involved. We combined field studies, phylogenetics and experimental infections to document with unprecedented detail the stages that precede initial outbreaks during viral emergence in nature. Using serological surveys we showed that in the absence of large-scale outbreaks, horses in Mongolia are routinely exposed to and infected by avian influenza viruses (AIVs) circulating among wild birds. Some of those AIVs are genetically related to an avian-origin virus that caused an epizootic in horses in 1989. Experimental infections showed that most AIVs replicate in the equine respiratory tract without causing lesions, explaining the absence of outbreaks of disease. Our results show that AIVs infect horses but do not spread, or they infect and spread but do not cause disease. Thus, the failure of AIVs to evolve greater transmissibility and to cause disease in horses is in this case the main barrier preventing disease emergence., Author summary Viral diseases pose a constant threat to humans and animals. Occasionally, viruses establish in new hosts, sometimes with devastating consequences. While we still do not know what allows a virus to infect and become transmissible in a new population, it is clear that ecology and evolution play an important part in this process. Influenza A viruses (IAVs) constitute the archetypical example of emerging viruses: their main natural reservoir is in wild birds but they have also established in humans, pigs and horses. To better understand how IAVs circulate in nature we sequenced over twenty avian influenza viruses collected from wild birds in Mongolia. We show that these viruses are partially related to a virus that caused an equine influenza epizootic in 1989, that they can infect and replicate in the respiratory tract of the horse without causing any tissue damage, and that -based on serological evidence- horses in Mongolia have been regularly exposed to them over a broad geographical area without causing clinically evident outbreaks. We conclude that equine infections by avian viruses able to replicate in horses are more common than originally thought and that the failure to acquire key genetic changes is in this case the main barrier to disease emergence.

Protecting and restoring natural capital—Earth’s lands, waters, and biodiversity, and the life-supporting goods and services that flow from these—have been promoted by many as the best hope for conserving biodiversity while also supporting sustainable, inclusive growth. Evidence is growing that illuminating the ways in which people depend on nature for their well-being can motivate efforts that improve both (Guerry et al. 2015; chapter 4, this volume). Creative yet highly dispersed innovation has shown glimpses of what is possible.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T17:44:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-01-26 Robert Bosch Foundation Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human footprint were on average one-half to one-third the extent of their movements in areas with a low human footprint. We attribute this reduction to behavioral changes of individual animals and to the exclusion of species with long-range movements from areas with higher human impact. Global loss of vagility alters a key ecological trait of animals that affects not only population persistence but also ecosystem processes such as predator-prey interactions, nutrient cycling, and disease transmission. Senckenberg Gesell Naturforsch, Senckenberg Biodivers & Climate Res Ctr, D-60325 Frankfurt, Main, Germany Goethe Univ, Dept Biol Sci, D-60438 Frankfurt, Main, Germany Univ Maryland, Dept Biol, College Pk, MD 20742 USA Univ Maryland, SESYNC, Annapolis, MD 21401 USA Univ Guelph, Dept Integrat Biol, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada Norwegian Inst Nat Res, POB 5685 Torgard, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway Duke Univ, Dept Biol, Durham, NC 27708 USA Duke Univ, Dept Evolut Anthropol, Durham, NC 27708 USA Hirola Conservat Programme, Garissa, Kenya Swedish Univ Agr Sci, Dept Wildlife Fish & Environm Studies, S-90183 Umea, Sweden Radboud Univ Nijmegen, Dept Anim Ecol & Physiol, Inst Water & Wetland Res, NL-6500 GL Nijmegen, Netherlands Univ Fed Mato Grosso do Sul, Ecol & Conservat Grad Program, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil Univ Alberta, Dept Biol Sci, Edmonton, AB, Canada Univ London, Royal Vet Coll, Struct & Motion Lab, London NW1 0TU, England Wildlife Conservat Soc, Mongolia Program, Ulaanbaatar, Mongol Peo Rep Mississippi State Univ, Forest & Wildlife Res Ctr, Carnivore Ecol Lab, Box 9690, Mississippi State, MS USA Sao Paulo State Univ, Anim Biol Postgra Program, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil Michigan Dept Nat Resources, 1990 US 41 South, Marquette, MI 49855 USA Univ Calif Davis, Dept Anthropol, Davis, CA 95616 USA Aarhus Univ, Dept Biosci, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark Max Planck Inst Ornithol, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, D-78315 Radolfzell am Bodensee, Germany Wildlife Conservat Soc, Bronx, NY 10460 USA Univ Potsdam, Plant Ecol & Nat Conservat, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany Middle Tennessee State Univ, Dept Biol, Murfreesboro, TN 37132 USA Univ Pretoria, Dept Zool & Entomol, Mammal Res Inst, ZA-0028 Gauteng, South Africa Fdn Edmund Mach, Res & Innovat Ctr, Dept Biodivers & Mol Ecol, I-38010 San Michele All Adige, TN, Italy Harvard Univ, Dept Organism & Evolutionary Biol, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Natl Zool Pk, Smithsonian Conservat Biol Inst, Front Royal, VA USA Univ Evora, Depat Fitotecn, P-7002554 Evora, Portugal Univ Evora, ICAAM, Inst Mediterranean Agr & Environm Sci, Evora, Portugal Univ Montpellier, Univ Paul Valery Montpellier, CNRS,EPHE, Ctr Ecol Fonctionnelle & Evolut,UMR 5175, F-34293 Montpellier 5, France Phillip Isl Nat Parks, Cowes, Vic, Australia Monash Univ, Sch Biol Sci, Melbourne, Vic, Australia Ohio State Univ, Dept Civil Environm & Geodet Engn, Columbus, OH 43210 USA Fiji Natl Univ, Dept Biol, POB 5529, Natabua, Lautoka, Fiji Univ Massachusetts, US Geol Survey, Massachusetts Cooperat Fish & Wildlife Res Unit, Amherst, MA 01003 USA Penn State Univ, US Geol Survey, Penn Cooperat Fish & Wildlife Res Unit, University Pk, PA 16802 USA Univ Oxford, Dept Zool, Oxford OX1 3PS, England Giraffe Conservat Fdn, POB 86099, Eros, Namibia German Primate Ctr, Behav Ecol & Sociobiol Unit, D-37077 Gottingen, Germany Tech Univ Munich, Dept Ecol & Ecosyst Management, Restorat Ecol, D-85354 Freising Weihenstephan, Germany Cary Inst Ecosyst Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545 USA Univ British Columbia, Irving K Barber Sch Arts & Sci, Unit 2, Biol, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada Univ Zurich, Dept Evolutionary Biol & Environm Studies, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland Univ Wyoming, Dept Zool & Physiol, Laramie, WY 82071 USA Univ Washington, Sch Environm & Forest Sci, Seattle, WA 98195 USA Univ Montana, Coll Forestry & Conservat, Dept Ecosyst & Conservat Sci, Wildlife Biol Program, Missoula, MT 59812 USA Bavarian Forest Natl Pk, Dept Conservat & Res, D-94481 Grafenau, Germany Albert Ludwigs Univ Freiburg, Wildlife Ecol & Management, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany Univ Toulouse, INRA, CEFS, Castanet Tolosan, France Univ Calif Davis, Anim Behav Grad Grp, Davis, CA 95616 USA Bionet Natr Onderzoek, NL-6171 EL Stein, Netherlands Univ Vet Med Vienna, Res Inst Wildlife Ecol, A-1160 Vienna, Austria Univ Coll Cork, Sch Biol Earth & Environm Sci, Cork, Ireland Univ Wyoming, US Geol Survey, Dept Zool & Physiol, Wyoming Cooperat Fish & Wildlife Res Unit, Laramie, WY USA North Carolina Museum Nat Sci, Raleigh, NC 27601 USA North Carolina State Univ, Dept Forestry & Environm Resources, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA Karatina Univ, Dept Nat Resource Management, POB 195710101, Karatina, Kenya Univ Lethbridge, Dept Psychol, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada Columbia Univ, Lamont Doherty Earth Observ, Palisades, NY 10964 USA Univ Valencia, Terr Vertebrates Grp, Cavanilles Inst Biodivers & Evolutionary Biol, E-46980 Valencia, Spain SUNY Stony Brook, Dept Anthropol, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA TSG, SSC, IUCN, Rua Licuala 622,Damha 1,Campo Grande, BR-79046150 Mato Grosso Sul, Brazil IPE Inst Pesquisas Ecol Inst Ecol Res, Caixa Postal 47, BR-12960000 Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Alicante, Dept Ciencias Ambient & Recursos Natur, Vertebrates Zool Res Grp, Alicante, Spain Embrapa Pantanal, BR-79320900 Corumba, MS, Brazil Chico Mendes Inst Conservat Biodivers, Natl Res Ctr Carnivores Conservat, BR-12952011 Atiba, SP, Brazil Univ Glasgow, Inst Biodivers Anim Hlth & Comparat Med, Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland NYU, Dept Biol, Ctr Genom & Syst Biol, New York, NY 10003 USA Univ Calif Davis, Dept Microbiol & Mol Genet, Davis, CA 95616 USA Univ Oslo, Dept Biosci, Ctr Ecol & Evolutionary Synth, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway Hebrew Univ Jerusalem, Alexander Silberman Inst Life Sci, Dept Ecol Evolut & Behav, Movement Ecol Lab, IL-91904 Jerusalem, Israel Norwegian Inst Nat Res, NO-0349 Oslo, Norway Norwegian Univ Sci & Technol NTNU, Dept Math Sci & Ctr Biodivers Dynam, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway Univ Fed Mato Grosso do Sul, Dept Ecol, BR-79070900 Campo Grande, MS, Brazil Field Museum Nat Hist, Integrat Res Ctr, Chicago, IL 60605 USA Consorzio Parco Nazl Stelvio, Bormio, Sondrio, Italy Univ Grenoble Alpes, Irstea, UR LESSEM, BP 76, F-38402 St Martin Dheres, France Univ Bayreuth, BayCEER, D-95447 Bayreuth, Germany Natl Park Schwarzwald, D-77889 Seebach, Germany Univ New South Wales, Evolut & Ecol Res Ctr, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia Univ New South Wales, Sch Biol Earth & Environm Sci, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia Penn Game Commiss, Harrisburg, PA 17110 USA Princeton Univ, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Princeton, NJ 08544 USA Univ Konstanz, Dept Biol, D-78467 Constance, Germany Off Natl Chasse & Faune Sauvage, Studies & Expertise DRE, F-01330 Birieux, France Univ Haifa, Dept Evolutionary & Environm Biol, IL-3498838 Haifa, Israel Western Ecosyst Technol Inc, Laramie, WY 82070 USA Aarhus Univ, Arctic Res Ctr, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark Polish Acad Sci, Inst Nat Conservat, PL-31120 Krakow, Poland Univ Porto, CIBIO InBIO Associate Lab, P-4485661 Vairao, Portugal Univ Lisbon, Inst Super Agron, InBIO Associate Lab, Ctr Appl Ecol Prof Baeta Neves, P-1349017 Lisbon, Portugal Univ Lisbon, Fac Ciencias, Ctr Ecol Evolut & Environm Changes, P-1749016 Lisbon, Portugal Univ Calif Davis, Dept Environm Sci & Policy, Davis, CA 95616 USA Jackson Hole Conservat, Jackson, WY 83001 USA Univ Vet Med Hannover, Inst Terr & Aquat Wildlife Res, D-30173 Hannover, Germany Univ Calif Santa Cruz, Environm Studies Dept, Ctr Integrated Spatial Res, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA Univ Pretoria, Dept Zool & Entomol, ZA-0028 Hatfield, South Africa Colorado State Univ, Dept Fish Wildlife & Conservat Biol, Ft Collins, CO 80523 USA Tatra Natl Pk, PL-34500 Zakopane, Poland Sao Paulo State Univ, Anim Biol Postgra Program, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil

Prior to 2000, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) had not been observed in Mongolia since 1973; however, between April 2000 and July 2002, Mongolia reported 44 FMD outbreaks that affected cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. The objectives of this study were to describe the distributions of the 44 reported FMD outbreaks in Mongolia and to assess their spatial clustering and directions of movement. Official reports were collected to obtain the number and species of animals both affected and at risk, and the date and geographical coordinates of each outbreak. Significant global and local spatial clusters of reported FMD outbreaks were identified. Disease spread during the second epidemic moved 76 degrees northeast and the spread of the disease during the third epidemic moved 110 degrees northwest. FMD outbreaks were clustered intensely close to other FMD-positive counties. These findings can be used in the future to help plan prevention and control measures in high risk areas.

There were errors in the Funding section. The correct funding information is as follows: Support for this project was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services (Contracts HHSN266200700007C, HHSN266200700009C, and HHSN266200700005C), the World Bank, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This work was made possible through support provided by the Office of Health, Infectious Disease and Nutrition, Bureau for Global Health, U.S. Agency for International Development and Wildlife Conservation Society, under the terms of Leader Award No.LAG-A-00-99-00047-00, Cooperative Agreement: GHS-A-00-06-00005. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development or Wildlife Conservation Society. DOJ was supported by generous funding from the Dunemere private foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Mongolia combines a near absence of domestic poultry, with an abundance of migratory waterbirds, to create an ideal location to study the epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) in a purely wild bird system. Here we present the findings of active and passive surveillance for HPAIV subtype H5N1 in Mongolia from 2005-2011, together with the results of five outbreak investigations. In total eight HPAIV outbreaks were confirmed in Mongolia during this period. Of these, one was detected during active surveillance employed by this project, three by active surveillance performed by Mongolian government agencies, and four through passive surveillance. A further three outbreaks were recorded in the neighbouring Tyva Republic of Russia on a lake that bisects the international border. No HPAIV was isolated (cultured) from 7,855 environmental fecal samples (primarily from ducks), or from 2,765 live, clinically healthy birds captured during active surveillance (primarily shelducks, geese and swans), while four HPAIVs were isolated from 141 clinically ill or dead birds located through active surveillance. Two low pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIV) were cultured from ill or dead birds during active surveillance, while environmental feces and live healthy birds yielded 56 and 1 LPAIV respectively. All Mongolian outbreaks occurred in 2005 and 2006 (clade 2.2), or 2009 and 2010 (clade 2.3.2.1); all years in which spring HPAIV outbreaks were reported in Tibet and/or Qinghai provinces in China. The occurrence of outbreaks in areas deficient in domestic poultry is strong evidence that wild birds can carry HPAIV over at least moderate distances. However, failure to detect further outbreaks of clade 2.2 after June 2006, and clade 2.3.2.1 after June 2010 suggests that wild birds migrating to and from Mongolia may not be competent as indefinite reservoirs of HPAIV, or that HPAIV did not reach susceptible populations during our study., published_or_final_version