Avian influenza viruses (AIV) are endemic in aquatic wild bird populations frequently spilling-over to domestic poultry. AIVs can also occasionally spread to mammals with acknowledged zoonotic and pandemic potential. Low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) viruses can mutate into highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus strains that represent a serious concern for poultry health and welfare resulting in remarkable economic losses for the production sector.
Currently, avian influenza represents a global health threat in many countries due to the circulation of various HP subtypes, some of which (e.g. H5N1 and H5N8) have been intercontinentally spread by wild bird movements.
AIV transmission at the wildlife-domestic interface is recurrent despite the biosecurity and control measures. That reveals the existence of gaps related to epidemiological, diagnostics, ecological and sociological aspects of the disease in scientific knowledge that need to be filled in order to tackle the occurrence of the disease and limit its consequences, improving surveillance and control measures.
This Research Topic welcomes original manuscripts aimed at generating new knowledge for improving the prevention and control strategies of AIV in domestic poultry and wild birds. In particular we encourage the submission of studies focused on: assessing the risk of AIV spread, identifying risk factors of disease occurrence, evaluating and designing cost-effective surveillance, prevention and control strategies for AIV, exploring the transmission of AIV at the domestic-wild bird interface, modeling of spatio-temporal dynamics of the disease and identifying the potential sociological factors that may affect the correct application of AIV control measures.
Avian influenza viruses (AIV) are endemic in aquatic wild bird populations frequently spilling-over to domestic poultry. AIVs can also occasionally spread to mammals with acknowledged zoonotic and pandemic potential. Low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) viruses can mutate into highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus strains that represent a serious concern for poultry health and welfare resulting in remarkable economic losses for the production sector.
Currently, avian influenza represents a global health threat in many countries due to the circulation of various HP subtypes, some of which (e.g. H5N1 and H5N8) have been intercontinentally spread by wild bird movements.
AIV transmission at the wildlife-domestic interface is recurrent despite the biosecurity and control measures. That reveals the existence of gaps related to epidemiological, diagnostics, ecological and sociological aspects of the disease in scientific knowledge that need to be filled in order to tackle the occurrence of the disease and limit its consequences, improving surveillance and control measures.
This Research Topic welcomes original manuscripts aimed at generating new knowledge for improving the prevention and control strategies of AIV in domestic poultry and wild birds. In particular we encourage the submission of studies focused on: assessing the risk of AIV spread, identifying risk factors of disease occurrence, evaluating and designing cost-effective surveillance, prevention and control strategies for AIV, exploring the transmission of AIV at the domestic-wild bird interface, modeling of spatio-temporal dynamics of the disease and identifying the potential sociological factors that may affect the correct application of AIV control measures.