Bird Flu Radar: Tracking the Spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Predicting Bird Migrations to Mitigate HPAI Outbreaks
New Tool Combines Bird Movement Data with HPAI Outbreak Information
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a new Bird Flu Radar to track the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The radar combines data on bird distributions and movements with information on HPAI outbreaks, providing valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders in the fight against this devastating disease.
HPAI has had a significant impact on the poultry industry worldwide, leading to mass culling of birds and economic losses. The Bird Flu Radar aims to improve preparedness and response efforts by providing early warnings of potential outbreaks based on bird migration patterns.
The radar integrates data from EFSA's Migration Mapping Tool, which shows the movements and abundance of over 50 wild bird species, mainly waterbirds. This information is combined with data on HPAI outbreaks, allowing for the identification of areas at high risk of transmission.
Henk Sierdsema of Sovon, Stephen Baillie of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and Gabriel Gargallo of the Instituto Catalán de OrnitologĂa (ICO) contributed to the development of the Bird Flu Radar. Their expertise in bird migration and disease surveillance has been instrumental in creating a valuable tool for mitigating HPAI outbreaks.
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