Researchers work to control H5N8 avian influenza outbreak in the Congo

Using highly specific nuclear-derived techniques, a H5N8 avian influenza outbreak was recently identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and quickly put under control in the country’s Lake Albert region, according to scientists involved with the response efforts.

“This is the first time we spot this strain of the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain in DR Congo,” Curé Georges Tshilenge Mbuyi, head of the DRC’s Central Veterinary Laboratory in Kinshasa, said. “We were surprised, but also lucky to detect it soon enough.”

He continued, stating that not only did it have a devastating effect on poultry, but it could also be transmitted to humans.

Thanks to a training course organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the researchers were able to detect the virus and interpret testing results in such a manner that the outbreak is currently under control and limited to the DRC’s Lake Albert region.

One technique known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify the genome of the virus by amplifying a specific region in the pathogen’s DNA. The technology allows for the accurate identification of viruses, including Ebola and avian influenza, within a matter of hours.

Tshilenge Mbuyi and his team of researchers then sent prepared simples to a German laboratory that specializes in subcontractor genetic sequencing — a process that analyzes the nucleic acid information inside pathogens to describe the composition of genetic material.

The laboratory based in the DRC then interpreted the sequencing results received from Germany, which enabled the researchers to characterize the virus as H5N8 and discover the strain’s origin.

Once the virus was correctly identified and characterized, public health authorities began a number of sanitary measures on domesticated and wild birds along Lake Albert in order to control the virus’ outbreak. Veterinarians are also beginning to take samples from villages in the area in order to ensure that the virus isn’t spreading.

The H5N8 strain has also been recently identified in Uganda, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.