The agro-ecology of bird flu
february 2010
The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 viruse caused unprecedented epidemics in poultry and wildlife throughout the world, in terms of number of animals affected, socio-economic impact and geographical range. Beyond its veterinary dimensions, understanding the full dimension of the epizootic involved a wide range of disciplines such as wildlife ecology, agricultural sciences, virology, sociology and economy.
Since 2005, we have been involved in research trying to understand the geography of HPAI H5N1 virus, and more especifically to characterise the environmental and socio-economic conditions that relate to the spread and persistence of the disease at various spatial and temporal scales.
This web site presents the epidemiological context and background of the disease: why did this disease emerge, and why now. We then detail what have been the main outcomes of our research over the last few years: what did we find, and how has it contirbuted to the understanding of the disease. We then detail the main directions of our future researches on the subject. Finally, we also provide links to data sets that have arisen from our research and to external data sources related to the topic.