During the FLI Animal Welfare and Disease Control Seminar, organized at September 23, 2015 in Celle, Germany, a group of experts will give their vision on how the possible contribution of each transmission route could be determined and how a revolutionary new response strategy could be developed, based on the principle of neutralizing transmission routes. There are several factors, which contribute to the unique presentation of an avian influenza outbreak, like the relationship of this virus with wild waterfowl. The virus is highly pathogenic for chickens and turkeys but not pathogenic for waterfowl. Since the virus in our current outbreak is not pathogenic for waterfowl, the vast flocks of healthy virus-infected migratory geese and ducks travel thousands of miles, entering into commercial poultry-producing regions while shedding tremendous quantities of infectious avian influenza virus in their feces. You are more than welcome to participate in this English-spoken event. You can sign up by replying your name, including the name of your institute/company, to angelika.gaupp@fli.bund.de, or by fax: +49/5141-3846-117. We wanted this seminar to be accessible for all, and for that reason, the participation fee is € 70 only. Unfortunately, the number of participants is limited, so in case you’re interested, please let us know and respond before August 31, 2015. After you signed up, you will receive your detailed payment instructions. This international - English-language based - seminar is open for animal welfare specialists, veterinary specialists, and emergency response experts. The event takes place on the premises of FLI; starts at 9 AM; and closes at 4 PM, after the general discussion. In case you need more information or any assistance, please contact me on: 0046 761 731 779 or by mail on harm.kie@gmail.com. You are very welcome to pass this invitation to all of your colleagues, who may also be interested in the seminar. I am looking forward to see you there. Kind regards, Harm Kiezebrink Associate Research Fellow FLI Federal Research Institute for Animal Health Friedrich Loeffler Institute Dörnbergstr. 25/27 | 29223 Celle Tel: +49 5141 3846 130 | Fax: +49 5141 3846 117 http://www.fli.bund.de/

1. Introduction of Avian Influenza into the industry
There are several factors, which contribute to the unique presentation of an avian
influenza outbreak, like the relationship of this virus with wild waterfowl. The virus
is highly pathogenic for chickens and turkeys but not pathogenic for waterfowl.
Since the virus in our current outbreak is not pathogenic for waterfowl, the vast
flocks of healthy virus-infected migratory geese and ducks travel thousands of miles,
entering into commercial poultry-producing regions while shedding tremendous
quantities of infectious avian influenza virus in their feces.
In a recently published studyi (in Dutch) by the
University of Wageningen, wild ducks were
identified as a high risk factor for the introduction of
Low Pathogen Avian Influenza viruses in free-range
laying hens.
It seems logical that the regular presence of wild
ducks in the free-range increases the risk exposure of
the chickens LPAI virus since wild waterfowl are the
natural reservoir of avian influenza viruses.
Another study, published in 2009 ii describes that the
spatio-temporal dynamics of global H5N1 outbreaks match
bird migration patterns. The potential mechanisms
explaining the spread of the H5N1 virus, and the role of
wild birds, were analyzed, demonstrating that between
December 2003 and December 2006, three global
epidemic phases of H5N1 influenza were identified.
These H5N1 outbreaks showed a clear seasonal pattern,
with a high density of outbreaks in winter and early spring
(i.e., October to March). In phase I and II only the East Asia Australian flyway was
affected. During phase III, the H5N1 viruses started to appear in four other flyways: the
Central Asian flyway, the Black Sea Mediterranean flyway, the East Atlantic flyway and
the East Africa West Asian flyway.
A third study iii that is worth mentioning is
revealed two different transmission modes
of H5N1 viruses in China, and indicated a
significant role of poultry in virus
dissemination. Furthermore, selective
pressure posed by vaccination was found in
virus evolution in the country. In some

2. geographic regions has had an enormous impact on the poultry industry and presents a
serious threat to human health.
Different drivers
The association with migratory flyways has also been found in the intra-continental
spread of the low pathogenic avian influenza virus in North American wild birds. These
different environmental drivers suggest that different spread mechanisms operate.
Avian Influenza might spread to poultry via both poultry and wild birds, iv through
direct (via other birds) or indirect (e.g. via
contaminated environment) infection.
Outbreaks in wild birds are mainly caused by
transmission via wild birds alone, through
sharing foraging areas or shelters. These
findings are in contrast with previous
studies, which did not find environmental
differences between disease outbreaks in
poultry and wild birds in Europe.
i Risicofactoren voor introductie van laag- pathogeen aviaire influenza virus op
legpluimveebedrijven met vrije uitloop in Nederland, published by Central Veterinary Institute,
(Wageningen UR), March 24, 2015 -CVI Rapport 15/CVI0078 -
Jeanet van der Goot1 , Armin Elbers1 , Ruth Bouwstra1 ,Teun Fabri3 , Maudia van Wijhe- Kiezebrink2 ,
Thea van Niekerk 2
1 Central Veterinary Institute (CVI), Wageningen UR; 2 Wageningen UR, Livestock Research; 3
Gezondheidsdienst voor Dieren (GD)
ii Spatio-temporal dynamics of global H5N1 outbreaks match bird migration patterns, published
in Geospatial Health 4 (1), 2009, pp.65-78
Yali Si1,2,4 , Andrew K. Skidmore1,2 , Tiejun Wang1 , Willem F. de Boer2 , Pravesh Debba3 , Albert G.
Toxopeus1 , Lin Li4 , Herbert H.T. Prins2
1 Department of Natural Resources, International Institute for Geo-information Science and
Earth Observation (ITC), Hengelosestraat 99, P.O. Box 6, 7500AA Enschede, The Netherlands; 2
Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The
Netherlands; 3 Logistics and Quantitative Methods, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,
CSIR Built Environment, P.O. Box 395, 0001 Pretoria, South Africa; 4 School of Resources and
Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Luoyu Road 129, 430079 Wuhan, People’s Republic of
China
iii Spatial, temporal and genetic dynamics of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) virus in
China, published by Tian et al. Tian et al. BMC Infectious Diseases (2015) 15:54 DOI
10.1186/s12879-015-0770-x
iv Different Environmental Drivers of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Outbreaks in
Poultry and Wild Birds, published online on January 7, 2013
Yali Si1 *, Willem F. de Boer2 , Peng Gong1

3. 1 Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, and Center for Earth System
Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; 2 Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University,
Wageningen, The Netherlands