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Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 43(3_Supplement), 2007, pp. 22-28
© Wildlife Disease Association  2007
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Influenza Surveillance in Wild Birds in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: Preliminary Results from an Ongoing FAO-led Survey1

 Nicolas Gaidet2,7, Tim Dodman3, Alexandre Caron2, Gilles Balança2, Stéphanie Desvaux2, Flavie Goutard2, Giovanni Cattoli4, Vincent Martin5, Astrid Tripodi5, François Lamarque6, Ward Hagemeijer3 and François Monicat2

2 Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, TA 30/E, Campus International de Baillarguet, 34398 Montpellier, France
3 Wetlands International, Box 471, 6700 AL Wageningen, The Netherlands
4 Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, OIE/FAO and National Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
5 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Animal Production and Health Division, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy
6 Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Box 236, 75822 Paris cedex 17, France
7 Corresponding author (email: nicolas.gaidet{at}cirad.fr)

ABSTRACT:   In the context of the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus through Eurasia during 2005, a surveillance study of wild birds was launched in early 2006 within the framework of regional Technical Cooperation Programmes of Food and Agriculture Organization in several countries of eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. From mid-January to mid-May 2006, field campaigns were conducted in 14 countries, including recently infected countries. In total, 5,256 samples were collected in large wetland areas where Eurasian and Afro-tropical waterbirds congregate. The overall prevalence of avian influenza viruses detected by RT-PCR was 3.3%, with no positivity for HPAI H5N1 virus. Five distinct virus isolates were obtained from the RT-PCR–positive samples. Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses were detected and isolated in both Eurasian and Afro-tropical bird species, indicating that low pathogenic viruses were circulating in Africa during the northern winter. These findings reveal that LPAI virus persists in wild birds in subtropical environments and support the hypothesis that avian influenza viruses could be perpetuated in wild birds throughout the year, including in Palearctic waterbirds wintering in sub-Saharan Africa before their northward spring migration.
  Key words:  Africa, avian influenza, surveillance program, tropical ecosystems, waterbirds.

1 Presentation at the FAO and OIE International Scientific Conference on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds, Rome, 30 and 31 May 2006






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