We report the molecular epidemiology of highlypathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus involved in an out-break causing death in free-ranging wild birds at Mysore,Karnataka state of India. The virus was typed as HPAIA(H5N8) by conventional and TaqMan probe based real-time PCR assays. Six isolates of HPAI virus were recoveredin 9-day-old embryonated chicken eggs. Haemagglutiningene-based phylogeny of virus isolates showed > 99.9% nu-cleotide sequence identity with HPAI A(H5N8) isolates frommigratory birds and domestic poultry from China and Koreaindicating either these wild birds have routed their migrationthrough Korea and/or eastern China or these dead birds musthave directly or indirectly contacted with wild birds migratingfrom Eastern China and/or Korean regions. The study empha-sises the role of migratory wild birds in spread of HPAI acrossthe globe.

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• Virus isolation and molecular epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) from an outbreak in free-ranging wild birds, India 2016