42 . CIRAD 2008
Monitoring avian influenza viruses in wild ducks and in the environment
T
Š P. Poilecot/CIRAD
he World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) considers that the current avian influenza situation is critical. This disease is still present in several regions, and there are many yet unanswered questions concerning the transmission cycles of the viruses, their survival in the environment and the role of wild birds in their dispersal. As part of an FAO surveillance programme coordinated by CIRAD in collaboration with Wetlands International, a natural infection by a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was, for the first time, detected in healthy wild ducks in Nigeria. The survival capacity of viruses in water depends on the environmental features of this medium. CIRAD used remote sensing tools to pinpoint wet areas that could potentially harbour viruses and then classify them according to biophysical parameters. It also assessed the potential dispersal range and rate of H5N1 viruses
hosted by migratory ducks by tracking these birds’ movements by satellite telemetry. These environmental end ecological data will be included in more general virus persistence and dissemination models.
Contacts
Nicolas Gaidet, Flavie Goutard, Animal and Integrated Risk Management (UPR AGIRS)
For further information Gaidet N., Cattoli G., Hammoumi S., Newman S.H., Hagemeijer W., Takekawa J.Y., Cappelle J., Dodman T., Joannis T., Gil P., Monne I., Fusaro A., Capua I., Manu S., Micheloni P., Ottosson U., Mshelbwala J.H., Lubroth J., Domenech J., Monicat F., 2008. Evidence of infection by H5N2 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in healthy wild waterfowl. PLoS Pathogens, 8: doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000127. Gaidet N., Newman S.H., Hagemeijer W., Dodman T., Cappelle J., Hammoumi S., De Simone L., Takekawa J.Y., 2008. Duck migration and past influenza A (H5N1) outbreak areas. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 7: 1164-1166.
Partners Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, Italy), Wetlands International (Netherlands), Institut Pasteur (France, Cambodia), Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA, France), Department of Livestock Development (DLD, Thailand), Resistance of Influenza Viruses in Environmental Reservoirs and Systems project (RIVERS, EU)
A white-faced tree duck fitted with a satellite tracking sensor