Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Understanding the environmental pathways of avian influenza transmission Active

By Eastern Ecological Science Center March 3, 2023

This project focuses on improving our understanding of how avian influenza viruses persist and spread via the environment and wild waterfowl.

Dots representing raw movement data
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Spring migration departure date (a–e) and duration of first stopover (f–j) by species and infection status across 84 individuals with paired influenza and telemetry data. Partially transparent points show raw data; large points and error bars show means and 95% confidence intervals estimated from linear models.

In wild bird populations, influenza is transmitted through the environment, including via fecal-oral transmission and from influenza virions that persist in water and/or soil. Upon introduction into a naïve population, highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza viruses (HPAI) have variable outcomes: some spread quickly, others cause substantial mortality, and some fail to invade at all. This project seeks to utilize SEIR modeling, which simulates birds moving through multiple infection states (susceptible, exposed, infected, recovered) based upon various input parameters, to understand how variation in viral strain characteristics (e.g., ability to persist in the environment) influence the outcomes of HPAI introduction into a wild bird population. The knowledge gained will be highly valuable for understanding the risk posed by any emergent AIV strains.

Our work is also trying to understand the how infection with low pathogenic avian influenza impacts the movement ecology of wild birds, and what this means for their potential to serve as vectors for this disease. For instance, we have conducted studies finding that previous exposure to mercury contamination increases likelihood of a bird having been infected with avian influenza. We are also exploring the factors that drive spatio-temporal overlap between wild waterfowl and domestic poultry production facilities.

It is our hope that lessons learned from this project will help inform response efforts to current and future outbreaks. 

Waterfowl recently infected with low pathogenic avian influenza exhibit reduced local movement and delayed migration

Understanding relationships between infection and wildlife movement patterns is important for predicting pathogen spread, especially for multispecies pathogens and those that can spread to humans and domestic animals, such as avian influenza viruses (AIVs). Although infection with low pathogenic AIVs is generally considered asymptomatic in wild birds, prior work has shown that influenza-infected b
Authors
Claire S. Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Fiona McDuie, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Cory T. Overton, Laurie Anne Hall, Elliott Matchett, Josh T. Ackerman, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Andrew M. Ramey, Diann Prosser
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Avian influenza antibody prevalence increases with mercury contamination in wild waterfowl

Environmental contamination is widespread and can negatively impact wildlife health. Some contaminants, including heavy metals, have immunosuppressive effects, but prior studies have rarely measured contamination and disease simultaneously, which limits our understanding of how contaminants and pathogens interact to influence wildlife health. Here, we measured mercury concentrations, influenza inf
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Josh T. Ackerman, Mason A. Hill, Jaqueline M. Satter, Michael L. Casazza, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Walter M. Boyce, Evan James Buck, John M. Eadie, Mark P. Herzog, Elliott Matchett, Cory T. Overton, Sarah H. Peterson, Magdalena Plancarte, Andrew M. Ramey, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann Prosser
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Southeastern Wildlife Cooperative Disease Study

  • Overview

    This project focuses on improving our understanding of how avian influenza viruses persist and spread via the environment and wild waterfowl.

    Dots representing raw movement data
    Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
    Spring migration departure date (a–e) and duration of first stopover (f–j) by species and infection status across 84 individuals with paired influenza and telemetry data. Partially transparent points show raw data; large points and error bars show means and 95% confidence intervals estimated from linear models.

    In wild bird populations, influenza is transmitted through the environment, including via fecal-oral transmission and from influenza virions that persist in water and/or soil. Upon introduction into a naïve population, highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza viruses (HPAI) have variable outcomes: some spread quickly, others cause substantial mortality, and some fail to invade at all. This project seeks to utilize SEIR modeling, which simulates birds moving through multiple infection states (susceptible, exposed, infected, recovered) based upon various input parameters, to understand how variation in viral strain characteristics (e.g., ability to persist in the environment) influence the outcomes of HPAI introduction into a wild bird population. The knowledge gained will be highly valuable for understanding the risk posed by any emergent AIV strains.

    Our work is also trying to understand the how infection with low pathogenic avian influenza impacts the movement ecology of wild birds, and what this means for their potential to serve as vectors for this disease. For instance, we have conducted studies finding that previous exposure to mercury contamination increases likelihood of a bird having been infected with avian influenza. We are also exploring the factors that drive spatio-temporal overlap between wild waterfowl and domestic poultry production facilities.

    It is our hope that lessons learned from this project will help inform response efforts to current and future outbreaks. 

  • Publications

    Waterfowl recently infected with low pathogenic avian influenza exhibit reduced local movement and delayed migration

    Understanding relationships between infection and wildlife movement patterns is important for predicting pathogen spread, especially for multispecies pathogens and those that can spread to humans and domestic animals, such as avian influenza viruses (AIVs). Although infection with low pathogenic AIVs is generally considered asymptomatic in wild birds, prior work has shown that influenza-infected b
    Authors
    Claire S. Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Fiona McDuie, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Cory T. Overton, Laurie Anne Hall, Elliott Matchett, Josh T. Ackerman, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Andrew M. Ramey, Diann Prosser
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

    Avian influenza antibody prevalence increases with mercury contamination in wild waterfowl

    Environmental contamination is widespread and can negatively impact wildlife health. Some contaminants, including heavy metals, have immunosuppressive effects, but prior studies have rarely measured contamination and disease simultaneously, which limits our understanding of how contaminants and pathogens interact to influence wildlife health. Here, we measured mercury concentrations, influenza inf
    Authors
    Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Josh T. Ackerman, Mason A. Hill, Jaqueline M. Satter, Michael L. Casazza, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Walter M. Boyce, Evan James Buck, John M. Eadie, Mark P. Herzog, Elliott Matchett, Cory T. Overton, Sarah H. Peterson, Magdalena Plancarte, Andrew M. Ramey, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann Prosser
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
  • Partners

    Southeastern Wildlife Cooperative Disease Study