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Item type:Publication, Outbreak of H9N2 avian influenza viruses in lesser rhea in Peru, June-July 2025(Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2026-05-13)Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are endemic in the Americas and responsible for outbreaks in both domestic and wild birds that occasionally spill over into humans. We report the first known outbreak of AIV H9N2 in lesser rhea ( Rhea pennata ), also known as Darwin's rhea, in the region of Puno-Peru. The animals in this study lived in an isolated conservation center located in remote highlands above 4,000 m.a.s.l. Between June and July 2025, a total of 46/92 animals were recorded sick, with symptoms including greenish diarrhea (100%), hyporexia (24%), dyspnea (76%), nasal discharge (42%), drowsiness (18%) and isolation from the flock (73%), and 94% later died. Gross pathology exams revealed septicemia characterized by severe hepatitis, pneumonia, tracheitis, enteritis, and encephalitis. Swab and necropsy samples tested positive for Influenza A by PCR and were later identified as H9N2 through whole genome sequencing. We generated complete H9N2 genomes for two individuals. No additional pathogens were found. Phylogenetic analysis across all eight segments revealed that the viruses were low pathogenicity H9N2 AIV strains of North American origin, which indicated this outbreak was a new introduction of the virus into South America. We also performed a comparative mutational analysis and identified multiple mutations previously associated with mammalian host adaptation, increased virulence, increased pathogenicity, and increased virus binding to α2-6 receptors, which may explain the high mortality rates observed despite the supposedly low pathogenicity of the strain. We also identified novel mutations specific to rhea viruses that will need to be experimentally validated. This is the first report of a natural H9N2 systemic infection in an avian host, highlighting a need for increased surveillance efforts for zoonotic influenza viruses with pandemic potential. Author Summary Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are endemic in the Americas and cause more than 7,600 infections annually in domestic and wild birds worldwide each year. We report detection of AIV H9N2 in lesser rhea during an outbreak that occurred in June-July 2025 in the Andean highlands of Puno in Peru. Multiple sick animals were reported with symptoms of respiratory and gastrointestinal disease and 94% of them later died. Samples collected tested positive for Influenza A and they were subtyped as H9N2 of low pathogenic origin from North America. This is the third time H9N2 enters South America from North America, presumably through wild birds, some of which migrate along the Pacific Flyway. Comparison with other H9N2 sequences revealed a total of 44 mutations of interest that may explain the elevated death rates observed. Surveillance in wild birds remains patchy at best and needs to be strengthened in order to prevent spillover events into other animals, including humans.1 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Infrastructural violence, water insecurity, and gender in northern Peru(Elsevier BV, 2026-09-01)This study examines how infrastructural violence is co-produced through the interaction of physical and social infrastructures, shaping gendered experiences of water insecurity in northern Peru. While prior research has demonstrated how inadequate physical water infrastructure produces unequal access and harm, less attention has been placed on how social infrastructures, such as gendered labor and water governance, interact with material systems to create compounded forms of harm. Drawing on qualitative data collected in January-February 2022 and April 2022 from interviews, focus groups, and a multistakeholder meeting in Tambogrande, Peru, we show that these intertwined systems produce a broad spectrum of adverse health outcomes, reproductive burdens, opportunity costs, and forms of gender-based violence. By doing so, we advance the concept of infrastructural violence by reconceptualizing it as an outcome of conjugated physical and social systems, rather than solely as a function of deficient material infrastructure or governance. By positioning social infrastructure as an equally constitutive force to physical infrastructure, this study provides a more precise framework for understanding how infrastructural inequities produce gendered harm in contexts characterized by resource scarcity and patriarchal norms. Our findings underscore the need for interventions that address both the material and social conditions shaping water access and burdens.