National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC)

International Cooperation—2008

AI Surveillance Program in Kenya—The global spread of HPAI H5N1 has caused considerable concern about the potential of a human pandemic.  Although controlling HPAI H5N1 in Asia has received considerable attention, there has not been as much focus on the HPAI situation in Africa to date.  However, Africa may be a significant area of future concern, as there is great potential for HPAI H5N1 to be widely introduced into this country due to wild birds migrating to Africa from Europe (where HPAI H5N1 is already present), exponential increases in the country’s human population densities, and the country’s very high levels of human contact with poultry. 

Currently, surveillance for HPAI H5N1 in Africa is sporadic, with few, if any, rigorous sampling programs in place.  In collaboration with the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit-Kenya, NWRC wildlife disease scientists are establishing a surveillance program to detect HPAI H5N1 virus in feces from migratory wild birds passing through and wintering in Kenya.  NWRC staff are developing and implementing a low-cost AI surveillance program in wild birds for Kenya using avian fecal samples and, eventually, water.  This transfer of technology will include developing a sampling design based on existing information that identifies primary aquatic areas used by migratory waterfowl, provides field collection methods to collect 5,000 wild bird fecal samples at the key areas identified, trains Kenyan personnel in assays developed at NWRC to detect AI virus from collected samples, and develops and manages a laboratory database for surveillance.  Part of this effort will also serve as a M.Sc. project for a Kenyan student.  In addition, scientists will initiate water sampling as technology becomes further refined in the EEVB Project.

Canadian Scientists Visit NWRC to Discuss AI Surveillance—In December 2007, two Canadian scientists visited the NWRC to discuss AI surveillance activities in Canada and potential future collaborations on AI research and surveillance between Canadian and U.S. scientists.  They met with researchers from both NWRC and WS’ National Wildlife Disease Program.  Part of the collaboration discussed included supplying samples collected in Canada for genetic sequencing at NWRC to support a national risk assessment for the introduction of HPAI into the United States.  Scientists from the NWRC and APHIS’ National Wildlife Disease Program are collaborating with CSU researchers to conduct this risk assessment.

Indexing Dingoes and Co-Existing Species in Queensland, Australia—An NWRC researcher is collaborating with a researcher from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) to calculate passive tracking indices (PTI) for dingoes and 19 co-existing species from three shires in Queensland.  The researchers have collected data in each of the three shires for four years.  They will calculate PTI values for both baited and unbaited areas within each shire before and after the baiting programs.  The results will help discern the effects of the bait programs on dingo populations, the programs’ effects on other species, and the effects of dingo removal on the other species.

International Cooperation—2007

Consultations With Mexican Scientists on Bat Control Program To Protect Cattle—In September 2006, scientists from APHIS’ International Services Program in Mexico City and the Mexican National Campaign of Paralytic Rabies in Bovines (SAGARPA) visited NWRC in Fort Collins.  The scientists are collaborating with NWRC researchers on methods to control bat rabies transmission to cattle in Mexico.

Participation in Avian Influenza Training in Cambodia—In January 2007, USDA conducted a cooperative workshop with the Cambodian Wildlife Protection Office (WPO) in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.  The primary objective of the course was to train 24 WPO biologists to respond to wild bird morbidity or mortality events.  Five WS personnel from NWRC and the WS National Wildlife Disease Program instructed participants on wild bird capture, necropsy, and AI sampling techniques using classroom and field exercises.  The success of the training was well demonstrated during the last field exercise that required the newly trained staff to respond to a mock morbidity–mortality event.  Staff accurately assessed the status of the event and then made an appropriate response, wearing protective equipment to gather birds and collect samples to test for potential AI.

Hosting Chinese International Visitor Leadership Program Scientists—This leadership program is funded by USDA and hosted by the U.S. Meat Export Federation for visiting scientists from the People's Republic of China.  The program focuses on U.S. implementation of the World Trade Organization agreement on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures.  This year's program addressed pathogens and residues in food exports.  The Chinese scientists toured a variety of U.S. laboratories during the course of the summer program.  NWRC headquarters in Fort Collins was identified by USDA as one of the laboratories to be included in the training program.

In July 2007, Chinese scientists visited NWRC.  Fifteen Chinese scientists were given a tour of the NWRC headquarters facilities and an overview of NWRC research programs and activities.  Of particular interest to the Chinese delegation was NWRC research relating to diagnostic methods development, environmental decontamination, and vaccine development for prions responsible for chronic wasting disease.  The delegation was also interested in NWRC research relating to development of AI diagnostic methods for environmental samples and models for spatial sampling.

Earlier in February 2007, NWRC scientists hosted Mr. He Yubang, Deputy Director of the Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve in China.  The reserve is a key migratory-bird nesting area and receives between 60,000 and 100,000 birds between the months of March and October each year.  In May 2005, 6,000 birds at the lake died of H5N1 AI—the same strain of bird flu that was found in birds as far away as Russia, Turkey, and several other Western European countries.  Mr. He visited NWRC to learn more about surveillance and monitoring of animals and wildlife diseases.  He received an overview of NWRC research and later met with bird and wildlife-disease research scientists, who discussed bird research activities and NWRC’s AI surveillance program.

In July 2007, NWRC Wildlife Disease Research Program scientists hosted Dr. Ma Guiping, Director of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Test Laboratory and Technical Center, Beijing, China.  Dr. Ma is a scientific advisor to the Chinese government on animal disease prevention and control.  Dr. Ma visited NWRC to learn more about the Center’s research on CWD, how he could use the Center’s findings to prevent CWD introduction into China, and how NWRC’s work could be useful to him as related to BSE.  NWRC scientists discussed several of their studies with Dr. Ma and highlighted the capabilities of our facilities.

Collaboration in Australia To Evaluate Mark–Recapture Population Estimation—Mark–recapture is the most common method in wildlife research and management for estimating abundance of small-mammal populations.  As part of an ongoing collaboration on mark–recapture estimation, government researchers with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)  visited NWRC in November 2006 to discuss mark–recapture results from an intensive, multiyear rodent study from Bribie Island, Australia.  Mark–recapture requires much consideration in its application and interpretation of its results.

Collaboration on Indexing Dingoes and Coexisting Species in Queensland, Australia, To Examine Impacts of Baiting Programs—An NWRC scientist is collaborating with a researcher from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines to calculate passive tracking indices for dingoes and 19 other species from three shires in Queensland.  Data have been collected in each of the three shires for 4 years.  Passive tracking index values will be assessed for both baited and unbaited areas within each shire before and after baiting programs.  The results will help discern the effects the bait programs have on dingo populations, the effects the bait programs have on other species, and the effects the dingo removal has on the other species.

Presenting an Avian Influenza Workshop in Laos—In March 2007, WS hosted a 3-day workshop in Vientiane, Laos, on surveillance techniques for the detection of HPAI virus in wild birds.  The goal of the workshop was to increase the understanding of AI and help develop a framework for a Laos National Surveillance System for AI in wild birds.  In addition to learning capture, handling, and sampling techniques for gathering AI samples in wild birds, participants were trained in laboratory diagnostics and data management.  The workshop was similar to one conducted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in March 2006.