A recent study has looked at the impact that wind can have as a vector in the spreading of viruses from farm to farm, confirming an 18% risk factor.

Journal of Infectious Diseases

First published online: December 10, 2012

Genetic data provide evidence for wind-mediated transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza
Rolf J.F. Ypma1,2,*, Marcel Jonges1, Arnaud Bataille3,4, Arjan Stegeman3, Guus Koch4, Michiel van Boven1, Marion Koopmans1,5, W. Marijn van Ballegooijen1 and Jacco Wallinga1
+ Author Affiliations
1Center for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, 3721 BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands
2Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, 3584 GA Utrecht, the Netherlands
3Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3584 CL Utrecht, the Netherlands
4Department of Virology, Central Veterinary Institute, Animal Sciences Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 8221 RA Lelystad, the Netherlands
5Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, the Netherlands
↵*Corresponding author: Email address: [email protected], Telephone number: 0031302747054, Fax number: 0031302742971

Abstract

Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry can cause severe economic damage, and represent a public health threat. Development of efficient containment measures requires an understanding of how these influenza viruses are transmitted from one farm to the next. However, the actual mechanisms of inter-farm transmission are largely unknown. Dispersal of infectious material by wind has been suggested, but never demonstrated, as a possible cause of transmission between farms. Here we provide statistical evidence that the direction of spread of avian influenza A(H7N7) is correlated with the direction of wind at date of infection. We find the direction of spread by reconstructing the transmission tree for a large outbreak in the Netherlands in 2003, using detailed genetic and epidemiological data. We conservatively estimate the contribution of a possible wind-mediated mechanism to the total amount of spread during this outbreak to be around 18%.

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[link to jid.oxfordjournals.org]