Avian Influenza in Wild Birds—Sources
of Information
John L. Trapp
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Division of Migratory Bird Management
Arlington, Virginia
Prepared October 31, 2005
Last Revised November 14, 2005
The purpose of this
document is to bring together in one location some of the more informative
Web sites having information specific to avian influenza in wild birds.
Avian influenzas of many different strains have long been known to occur
naturally in wild birds, particularly waterfowl and shorebirds. These
viruses normally circulate in wild bird populations, but rarely cause
mortality. Long a focus of concern by the poultry industry as a source
of influenza infections in domestic stock, the influenza strains that
infect wild birds was not known to infect humans until recently. Since
1997, the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus has emerged as
a source of mortality in wild birds, domestic poultry, and humans in
southeast Asia. The precise roles played by migratory birds in the
spread of H5N1 and its transmittal to domestic poultry and humans remain
uncertain and continue to be debated by experts.
If you reference
only one of the links below, we suggest that you make it the National
Wildlife Health Center’s
Avian
Influenza Home Page, which we consider to be the premier online
source for information on avian influenza in wild birds.
To make navigation
of this site easier, links to avian influenza in wild birds are organized
in six categories:
Information
from Agencies of the U.S. Government
Information from State Wildlife Agencies
Information from Other Government
Agencies Worldwide
Views of Non-Governmental Bird Conservation Organizations
Media Sources
Technical Literature
Although not a primary
focus of this site, we also provide major links to Other
Aspects of Avian Influenza (specifically H5N1 in humans and domestic
poultry) and to PandemicFlu.gov,
“the official U.S. government Web site for information on pandemic
flu and avian influenza.”
Disclaimer:
While we believe that each of the links below are useful and informative
relative to avian influenza in wild birds, we cannot vouch for the accuracy
or validity of any of the many documents lying outside the domain of
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and do not necessarily agree with
the views expressed therein.
Information
from Agencies of the U.S. Government
Information
from State Wildlife Agencies
Information from Other
Government Agencies Worldwide
Views
of Non-Governmental Bird Conservation Organizations
Media Sources
Technical
Literature
Other
Aspects of Avian Influenza
Date Prepared:
2005/10/31
Last Revised:
2005/11/14
Return
to Home
Page |