Birds of a Feather

My return to Bangladesh begins with a highly collaborative workshop with members from the United Nations - Food and Agricultural Organization, U.S. Geological Survey (Western Ecological Research Center), Wetlands International, Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh, ICDDR,B and the Bombay Natural History Society.  We will be working with the Ministries of Environment, Livestock and Fisheries to better understand the movement of wild birds in Bangladesh.  Our plan is to tag waterfowl with satellite transmitters to strengthen our understanding of the epidemiology of avian influenza.
 
For years now, EcoHealth Alliance researchers have studied the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).  Currently, we are trying to decipher the mechanisms behind its persistence and to get this accomplished we are investigating domestic poultry practices and the potential role of wild waterfowl in both Bangladesh and China. These two localities continue to have outbreaks of the highly pathogenic strains and are locations where there have been documented human cases.
 
Bangladesh attracts huge numbers of wild migratory birds that spend the winter in wetland habitats created by the Ganges River and its tributaries.  We are particularly focused on this country since it is situated at the crossroads of two major flyways - the Central Asian and East Asian-Australian Flyways.
 
Since 2005, outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been reported in both wild and domestic birds in these flyways.  This raises the question of how and where birds become infected. Our plan is to test wild birds and tag them with GPS collars to help us identify the habitats where wild and domestic birds interact and the potential for transmission of HPAI H5N1 prior to their northward migration through Central Asia and Russia.

After the workshop and training course, I'll be gearing up to get out in the field to start working on this very important project.

Reporting from Bangladesh, EcoHealth Alliance scientist Kurt Vandegrift is working toward monitoring highly pathogenic Avian influenza in wild migratory waterfowl.