ATHENS, Ga. — A new study from the University of Georgia indicates that the movement patterns of waterfowl may influence the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as H5N1, among bird populations.
Understanding how ducks, swans and geese move outside of their typical migration periods could help scientists better predict where the bird flu virus might spread next.
Researchers analyzed 20 years of data, which included movement information from more than 4,600 waterfowl across 26 species in the Northern Hemisphere. The study found that during winter and breeding seasons, birds travel shorter distances in areas with human activity.
These human-altered landscapes likely provide abundant food, water and shelter, reducing the birds’ need to move. This reduced movement in human-heavy environments could change how the H5N1 virus travels.
Claire Teitelbaum, assistant unit leader with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, served as the lead author of the study. Teitelbaum, who is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, commented on the research.
“If we provide enough diverse attractive habitats, these animals may want to stick around,” Teitelbaum said. “If we want to keep the flu from spreading, we might want to see what we can do to keep the birds in one place, but there’s that flipside. That’s the underpinning: How can we link the distances that birds are moving to the distances that flu is moving?”
The research indicates that when birds remain in a single location, the disease does not spread as broadly. However, this concentrated presence could also lead to more intense hotspots for disease outbreaks in those specific areas.
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