Last week, the 2026 SVEPM annual conference brought together top veterinary epidemiologists from around the world in the vibrant city of London. The event featured a rich program of inspiring presentations on a wide range of animal diseases and zoonosis.
This conference was an excellent opportunity to share some of the first results from the TrackFLU project. As part of his PhD project, Bastien Malinge presented his work on developing a typology of poultry premises in Cambodia, alongside mapping the country’s poultry trade network. To do so, relevant variables were extracted from the 350 questionnaires conducted during the cross-sectional study. These variables include poultry species numbers, management practices (overnight storage, turnover rate, average stay duration) slaughtering practices, and trading practices of each site.
Using multivariate and cluster analysis, groups of similar premises where created. Three distinct groups were created in the first place, corresponding to live bird markets, farms and slaughterhouses. A second cluster analysis on each of these groups revealed sub group diversity and provided more insights in the poultry trade network in Cambodia.
This research contributes to a better understanding of the diversity of premises involved, and offers a valuable foundation for strengthening avian influenza surveillance. It will also support ongoing and future research within the TrackFLU project.
Beyond the presentations, the conference was a great opportunity to reconnect with fellow researchers working on live bird markets. Discussions with colleagues such as Amelia Coggon and Francesco Pinotti highlighted their ongoing projects in Bangladesh on disease modelling and viral diversity in market systems.
Overall, the event was highly stimulating and reinforced our motivation to advance our research.
