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Evidence from nature: interspecies spread of heron hepatitis B viruses

Hüseyin Sirma^1,

Falko Steinbach^3,

¹ Heinrich-Pette-Institut für Experimentelle Virologie und Immunologie an der Universität Hamburg, PO Box 201652, 20206 Hamburg, Germany
² Florida Keys Wild Bird Centre, Tavernier, FL 33070, USA
³ Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
⁴ School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7290, USA

Correspondence
Hüseyin Sirma
sirma{at}hpi.uni-hamburg.de
Falko Steinbach
steinbach{at}izw-berlin.de

Heron hepatitis B viruses (HHBVs) in three subspecies of free-living great blue herons (Ardea herodias) from Florida, USA, were identified and characterized. Eight of 13 samples were positive in all assays used, whereas sera from egrets, which are also members of the family Ardeidae, were negative in the same assays. Comparative phylogenetic analysis of viral DNA sequences from the preS/S region of previously reported and novel HHBV strains isolated from captive grey herons (Germany) and free-ranging great blue herons (USA), respectively, revealed a strong conservation (95 % sequence similarity) with two separate clusters, implying a common ancestor of all strains. Our data demonstrate for the first time that different subspecies of herons are infected by HHBV and that these infections exist in non-captive birds. Phylogenetic analysis and the fact that the different heron species are geographically isolated populations suggest that lateral transmission, virus adaptation and environmental factors all play a role in HHBV spreading and evolution.

These authors contributed equally to this work.