Evidence of widespread sequencing errors in global avian influenza study
Wannigama et al. (2025) 1 present a study whereby guano samples from infrequently sampled countries were assessed for the presence of avian influenza viruses. Samples were collected from Africa (Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia), the Middle East (Yemen), South Asia (Maldives, Sri Lanka), South East Asia (Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines) and Oceania (Papua New Guinea). The study aims to address critical gaps in global surveillance and provide important data that could enhance understanding of regional viral diversity and evolution, as well as inform high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) incursion risk assessments. However, the data presented and the conclusions drawn from this study are of high concern to the global influenza community. The viral sequence data on which the study is based contradict long-established understanding of global avian influenza evolution, resulting in conclusions that are incongruent with the global evidence base. The publication of erroneous viral sequences in public databases such as GenBank or GISAID hinders rational interpretation of data in a global context, resulting in misleading conclusions that affect disease risk assessments and policy decisions.
Authors
- Michelle Wille (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5629-0196)
- Ashley C. Banyard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1286-9825)
- Martha I. Nelson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4814-0179)
- Nicola S. Lewis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9496-4756)
- Alice Fusaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8213-5472)
- Erik A. Karlsson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6004-5671)
- Frank Y. K. Wong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2471-9549)
- Marcela Uhart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3525-541X)
- Ian Hay Brown (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3909-1301)
- Andrew C. Breed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3439-9510)
- Francesco Bonfante (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1276-2710)
- David E. Swayne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7472-1992)
- Leslie D. Sims (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2487-2519)
Institutions
- University of London (GB)
- The Pirbright Institute (GB)
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Royal Veterinary College (GB)
- Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (AU)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- University of Georgia (US)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (GB)
- United States National Library of Medicine (US)
- The Francis Crick Institute (GB)
- Peter Doherty Institute (AU)
- Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (KH)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IT)
- University of California, Davis (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-11-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78539-0
- Primary Topic
- Influenza Virus Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00