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

Delaware (DE) Bay, in the northeastern United States, 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 have been consistently recovered from Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) 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, n = 18; horseshoe crab eggs, n = 1) obtained from DE Bay sites. Two of these viruses were subjected to laboratory conditions similar to those in the DE Bay spring-time environment, and remained infectious for seven days. Here, through the recovery of IAV from environmental samples, temperature monitoring at and below the sand surface, and simulated laboratory trials, we provide evidence that the beach environment may enable localized transmission and short-term maintenance of IAV in this unique ecosystem.美国东北部的特拉华湾（Delaware Bay, DE）长期以来被认定为甲型禽流感病毒（avian influenza A virus, IAV）的热点流行区域。每年春季，这片滨海区域都会成为数千只长途迁徙滨鸟的短暂停歇地，这些鸟类彼时正奔赴北极的繁殖栖息地。在停歇期间，研究人员持续从棕胸滨鹬（Ruddy Turnstones, Arenaria interpres）体内分离到甲型禽流感病毒，这类滨鸟通过啄食沙砾觅食时极易受到感染。2010年至2012年5月期间，我们从特拉华湾各采样点获取的环境样本（沙样18份、鲎卵样1份）中成功分离得到19株甲型禽流感病毒。其中2株病毒在模拟特拉华湾春季环境的实验室条件下，仍可保持感染性长达7天。本研究通过从环境样本中分离甲型禽流感病毒、监测沙面及沙下温度，并开展模拟实验室试验，证实海滩环境或可促成该独特生态系统中甲型禽流感病毒的局部传播与短期存续。