Avian Influenza - Introduction
The active monitoring of the Avian Influenza among Belgium’s wild birds is organised within the framework of the 2005/94/CE european directive. The objective of this monitoring scheme consists of studying the Influenza viruses prevalence and in particular the H5 and H7 sub-types among wild birds.
From 1997, and more particularly since 2003, we witness, from south-eastern Asia, the development of the H5N1 highly pathogenic sub-type pandemic of the Influenza virus. The Influenza viruses are characteristic of birds (wild and domestic) infecting by direct or indirect contact. This H5N1 kind of avian flu (or plague) shows characteristics never seen up to now : quick and out-of-control dispersal, very high virulence, constant adaptation to new animal species, crossed infections between wild and domestic birds and the back-coming of the highly pathogenic form to the wild birds. This latest observation is very remarkable because we have noticed, and it seems to be new, that some wild birds may have been infected by the H5N1 without dying or even show infection symptoms.
The H5N1 is a virus that extremely hardly affects humans but, once it has achieved to do so, is devastating. During the 2005 summer, the H5N1 pandemic knew new developments by the appearance of sources in regions up to then unharmed : North of China, Mongolia, Southern Central Siberia. But this important expansion in surface led the H5N1 to regions where nest or spent their summer wild bird that go through migration or wintering on the Union’s territory. That causes a risk of virus transportation by wild birds. Due to that, a potentially tragic economical impact on the sectors linked to the avicolous breeding, but also anxiety regarding the possibilites of the virus to contaminate human beings.
The whole of the characteristics of this pandemic led the European Commission to take a series of measures aiming at observing, studying and combating the phenomenon. Among those, the 2005/464/CE decision aiming at carrying out an active monitoring of wild birds. The commission has also published a list of species that, as a priority, needed to be sampled.
Also, on this site the maps of wild birds ringed and sampled in Belgium and the migration maps of priority species.
You will also find a list of usefull documents and the list of contacts.
Happy New Year 2008. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
