High Influenza A Virus Infection Rates in Mallards Bred for Hunting in the Camargue, South of France

Vittecoq, Marion; Grandhomme, Viviane; Champagnon, Jocelyn; Guillemain, Matthieu; Crescenzo-Chaigne, Bernadette; Renaud, François; Thomas, Frédéric; Gauthier-Clerc, Michel; van der Werf, Sylvie

Study of the extremities of the viral segments. We also determined the sequences of the extremities including the full noncoding sequences of all segments of the H10N7 Camargue strain, which to our knowledge was not performed before for any H10N7 strain. The extremities of the N7 segment revealed two characteristics that confirmed the phylogenetic distinction between the H10N7 Camargue strain and those of the American lineage. First, in the non-coding region of the 59 extremity, an A was found at position 1440, as commonly seen in Eurasian strains, while strains of the American lineage possess a T at this position. Second, at position 145±147 of the 39 extremity that belongs to the coding region the Camargue strain, like other Eurasian ones, has a supplementary amino acid compared to strains of the American lineage.