NEW DELHI: A science conference that looked into the causes for the spread of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus has found that migrating wild birds did play and are likely to continue to play a role in transporting bird flu over long distances. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Thursday that human activities such as poultry production and trade, both legal and illegal, were principally responsible for spreading the disease.

The participants at the two-day international conference called by the FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health, rejected suggestions to kill wild birds to stop the spread of HPAI. "Destruction of wild bird habitats or indiscriminate hunting of wildlife is scientifically and ethically unjustified as a response," the conference said, but called for further analysis for a complete understanding of how the virus was introduced.

Under a plan worked out by the FAO, flying backpackers, communication satellites and a network of computers will monitor the movements of wild birds on their annual migrations.

The $6.8-million plan can also provide crucial advance warnings of the occurrence of HPAI virus that causes bird flu. Deploying teams of national and international veterinary and wild bird experts on the ground will fill a huge gap in scientific knowledge about where, when and how wild birds associated with HPAI — principally aquatic and shore birds — migrate.

Test samples

The plan involves capturing thousands of wild birds before they migrate, testing sample birds for disease, and fitting some of them with tiny backpacks weighing less than 50 grams each. After the birds are released, the sophisticated telemetry equipment inside the packs will track their every movement. A system of radio beacons and satellites will then feed data into the computers of ornithologists, ecologists, virologists and epidemiologists round the world.

Under FAO's plan, the backpacks will show the migrating birds' exact whereabouts when they stop over for rest. Mobile ground-based teams will then re-test the sample birds for disease. If positive, they will have a good idea of where the infection originated and where it might head next. Early warning will give governments and poultry producers more time to respond to potential threats.

Extent of spread

The participants at the conference did not agree on the key issue of the role of wild birds in the spread of HPAI to more than 50 countries in three continents, and whether wild birds should now be considered a permanent reservoir of the virus. If they are such a reservoir, there is a strong likelihood they will carry the virus with them in subsequent migrations. Alternatively H5N1 may subside naturally as infected animals die off, or it may mutate to a less aggressive form. "This was one of the main gaps identified in our present scientific knowledge. We must intensify our investigations,'' said FAO's chief veterinary officer Joseph Domenech.

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