As part of the TrackFLU project, we recently met with Alistair and Sokha from the Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia to learn more about wild bird distribution and past avian influenza cases in the country.
It was great to see that several initiatives are already in place to monitor wild bird presence and disease. We discussed potential collaboration to integrate wild bird data—such as proximity to colonies or virus detections—into our analyses. This could help us explore how wild bird dynamics relate to virus evolution and circulation in domestic birds, a key objective of Bastien’s PhD work.
We’re also considering including wild bird sampling in our upcoming longitudinal study, set to begin later this year, to monitor virus transmission over time and space in both wild and domestic bird populations. Exciting perspectives ahead!
