Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Exotic & Emerging Avian Viral Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #301225
Title: Global avian influenza surveillance in wild birds: A strategy to capture viral diversity

Author
item MACHALABA, CATHERINE - Ecohealth Alliance
item ELWOOD, SARAH - Ecohealth Alliance
item FORCELLA, SIMONA - World Health Organization (WHO) - France
item SMITH, KRISTINE - Ecohealth Alliance
item HAMILTON, KEITH - World Health Organization (WHO) - France
item JABARA, KARIM BEN - World Health Organization (WHO) - France
item Swayne, David
item WEBBY, RICHARD - St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
item MUMFORD, ELIZABETH - World Health Organization (WHO) - Switzerland
item MAZET, JONNA A.K. - University Of California
item GAIDET, NICOLAS - Cirad, France
item DASZAK, PETER - Ecohealth Alliance
item KARESH, WILLIAM - Ecohealth Alliance

Submitted to: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/25/2014
Publication Date: 4/1/2015
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/61288
Citation: Machalaba, C.M., Elwood, S., Forcella, S., Smith, K., Hamilton, K., Jabara, K., Swayne, D.E., Webby, R.J., Mumford, E., Mazet, J., Gaidet, N., Daszak, P., Karesh, W.B. 2015. Global avian influenza surveillance in wild birds: A strategy to capture viral diversity. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 21(4):e1-7.

Interpretive Summary: Avian influenza (AI) is an international threat to poultry production and distribution systems as well as human health. However, a sustainable, comprehensive and coordinated effort to identify any change in AI viruses (AIVs) within nature is lacking. Two AIVs strains are had the greatest impact on human health; the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that has spilled over repeatedly to people since its first report in 1996, and H7N9 AI continues to cause human infections in China. Wild birds played a role in the development of the H7N9 strain, and contributed to the spread of H5N1 HPAI to parts of Asia and Europe following the 2005 outbreak in birds at China’s Qinghai Lake. Concern about H5N1 HPAI being spread by wild birds has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars being spent in chicken wild birds for H5N1 HPAI virus. Interest and funding have declined, but the threat from these and other AIVs has not. New strategies are proposed for surveillance in wild bird populations for AIVs.

Technical Abstract: Avian influenza (AI) is a global threat to food animal production and distribution systems as well as human health. However, a sustained, comprehensive and coordinated global effort to monitor the continually changing genetic diversity of AI viruses (AIVs) circulating in nature is lacking. Two strains are current pandemic threats; highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 has spilled over repeatedly to people since its first report in 1996, and AI H7N9 continues to cause human infections. Wild birds played a role in the evolution of the H7N9 strain, and contributed to the spread HPAI H5N1 to parts of Asia and Europe following the 2005 outbreak in birds at China’s Qinghai Lake. Concern about HPAI H5N1 resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars being spent in wild bird related research globally, and while interest and funding has waned, the threat from these and other AIVs has not. New strategies are proposed for surveillance in wild bird populations for AIVs.