RESUMO
Objective To investigate the distribution of avian influenza A viruses in external environment in Urumqi City in order to provide reference for the prevention and control of human infection with avian influenza virus in Urumqi City.Methods Environmental specimens were collected from 2013 to 2015 to detect avian influenza A virus nucleic acid with real-time fluorescent PCR.The positive specimens were further analyzed to identify the subtypes of avian influenza A viruses.Results A total of 1 043 environmental specimens were collected and tested.Among them,123 specimens were positive for avian influenza A virus nucleic acid with an overall positive rate of 11.79%.H9 was the predominant subtype,accounting for 7.77% of all specimens.Quarterly detection rates of avian influenza A virus in the three years peaked in different quarters of the year.Of all surveillance sites,live poultry markets in urban and rural areas had the highest positive rate (14.23%).Specimens collected from poultry drinking water (18.44%) and other specimens (19.44%) were highly positive for avian influenza A virus.Conclusion Avian influenza A viruses,especially the subtypes of H5,H7 and H9,exist in live poultry markets in Urumqi City.It is necessary to conduct surveillance and health education among people exposed to poultry in live poultry markets.