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Wetlands Degradation Promotes Bird Flu, Study Finds

Wild swans near the Caspian Sea south of Baku, Azerbaijan, February 15 (©AP/WWP)

Washington -- The threat of avian flu epidemics might be reduced if lost and degraded wetlands were restored to provide better habitat for disease-carrying migratory species and reduce their contact with domestic poultry.

The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) announced the findings of the commissioned study in Nairobi, Kenya, April 11.

The research found that the loss of natural wetlands compels wild species to join domestic species in farm ponds and paddy fields.

Avian flu viruses are carried by wild birds. Even though the wild birds do not get sick, their contact with domestic birds is considered a major reason for the spread of the disease.

The study also advises relocating large-scale poultry-raising enterprises away from migratory bird flyways. “Intensive poultry operations along migratory wild bird routes are incompatible with protecting the health of ecosystems that birds depend upon,” according to the UNEP research. “They also increase the risks of transfer of pathogens between migrating birds and domestic fowl.”

The occurrence of bird flu in domestic flocks has led to the deaths or culling of more than 200 million birds since the earliest outbreaks just over two years ago, according to a UNEP announcement of the research.

The spread of the disease also has brought this highly pathogenic viral disease closer to human beings who keep domestic birds.

Nearly 200 humans have become infected with the dangerous H5N1 virus and 109 deaths have been attributed to the disease, according to the World Health Organization. (See related article.)

“What this research underlines,” said UNEP Deputy Executive Director Shafqat Kakakhel, “is that the link between a healthy environment and disease prevention is no marginal topic, but an important component in public health policy, particularly in a globalized world.”

Lacking wetlands restoration, the report concludes that current measures to stop avian influenza – culling and isolation of flocks – will provide limited long-term benefits.

U.S. HABITAT RESTORATION

The U.S. government and a wildlife conservation organization already have made a compact to undertake the actions called for in the UNEP report.

The National Audubon Society and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in March that they will work together to protect, restore and manage habitat that benefits birds and other wildlife.

“The Corps operations around the country include land and water resources vital to birds and wildlife,” said John Flicker, national president of the Audubon Society. “[B]y working together we can not only improve habitat quality but also improve the environment and public understanding.”

This private, nonprofit group, with a more than 100-year history of conservation, will join with the Army Corps of Engineers to:

• Encourage water management measures that benefit migratory and resident native birds;

• Foster wetland protection and restoration;

• Promote nonstructural flood protection to restore and maintain natural ecosystem functions; and

• Cooperate in public information and education efforts.

MONITORING MIGRATORY BIRDS

The United States announced a plan in March to enhance bird flu detection efforts. The plan calls for stepped-up efforts to monitor and test wild birds entering the state of Alaska from eastern Asia and the Pacific, down a migratory route known as the Pacific Flyway, including western Canada and the United States, and continuing down through Central and South America.

With the involvement of many agencies and specialists, the monitoring strategy will expand to include migration routes covering the central and eastern parts of the country, involving birds flying from Europe into Canada and then to the United States. (See related article.)

The UNEP annoucement of the study results is available on the organization’s Web site.

For more information on the disease and efforts to combat it, see Bird Flu (Avian Influenza).