Avian Influenza:Surveillance of Wild Birds

U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

H. Dale Hall, DirectorU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The National Strategy

• Preparedness and Communication

• Surveillance and Detection

• Response and Containment

Other USFWS Roles Within The National Strategy

• Protecting public and employee health on Service lands

• Regulating trade in wildlife and

wildlife products

• Smuggling interdiction

Interagency Strategic Plan

• Surveillance and Detection

Live birdsHunter taken birdsInvestigation of mortality events

Surveillance and Detection

Ruddy Turnstone

BreedingMay-Aug

Migration Corridors

NonbreedingAug-Apr

Approx. 20,000 birdsin Alaska

Flyway Councils

• Migratory bird management within each flyway by the Flyway Councils

• FWS will work with each Flyway Council to step down national strategic plan

• Individual flyway states will step down plan to state-level surveillance plans

Live Bird Surveillance

• FWS biologists and cooperators will collect samples from live-captured migratory birds

• Collections will be made as part of current FWS and USGS monitoring work

• New field stations will be set-up in remote locations

Hunter-Taken Bird Surveillance

• Waterfowl check stations are used in waterfowl harvest estimates

• Provide an opportunity to collect additional samples

• Alaska subsistence hunting sampling will occur in Spring

• Sampling will also occur during hunting seasons in areas where migratory birds stage during migration or over-winter

• Enhanced and systematic investigation of sick or dead wild birds offers another opportunity for detection

• FWS increasing in-house capability and that of state wildlife partners

• Focus primarily on Alaska, Pacific Flyway, and the Pacific Islands

Sick or Dead Bird Investigation

Sick or Dead Bird Investigation

Success of the surveillance strategy depends on:• Early detection of sickness and death

• Immediate assessment of the field event (descriptive epidemiology)

• Rapid reporting and submission of appropriate biological specimens to USGS

• Rapid, accurate, and consistent diagnosis and confirmation

• Immediate reporting of diagnostic results

• Pre-planned contingency and response training

Collaboration is Key