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To improve surveillance of HPAI H5N1, and other wild bird diseases, along the Atlantic flyway via beached bird surveys and creation of "Atlantic Flyway Coastal Bird Morbidity and Mortality Emergency Response Plans." Globally, almost all detections of Asian H5N1 in a new locality have been through investigation of mortality events in wild birds or domestic poultry (Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, USFWS, and NWHC unpubl. report, 2006). Only regular and repeated surveillance of appropriate habitats have the sensitivity to detect mortality and provide opportunities to sample moribund or fresh carcasses (Guberti and Newman 2007). AI viruses have been successfully detected, as documented by the virologist (Dr. Hon Ip) who conducts AI testing at the WDIN, from a variety of marine birds and mammals, both from live as well as stranded or beached animals. The benefits gained from conducting disease investigations of wildlife mortality events are not unique to AI. Many other important diseases have been discovered and described after initial detection through the wildlife disease investigation process. Increasing the frequency of surveillance to detect morbidity and mortalities in wild birds requires extensive human resources. Using ongoing surveillance programs, such as SEANET's beached-bird monitoring, to aid in HPAI surveillance provides inexpensive samples and capitalizes on previously established programs.<P>
to the US Interagency Strategic Plan for an early detection system for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Wild Migratory Birds (March 2006), "The key to successful surveillance strategy involves: 1) early detection of morbidity and mortality, 2) rapid reporting and submission of appropriate specimens to qualified diagnostic facilities, 3) immediate assessment of the field event, 4) rapid diagnosis and confirmation, 5) immediate reporting of diagnostic results once confirmed, and 6) pre-planned contingency and response training for occurrence of HPAI." Currently, an immediate reporting of diagnostic results does not exist for mass mortality events in seabirds on the Atlantic coast. SEANET can serve this role as a coordinated reporting system.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The Seabird Ecological Assessment Network (SEANET) is a collaborative effort to monitor and investigate bird morbidity and mortality along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. Regular volunteer-based beached bird surveys have taken place for many years on the west coast of the US, in Atlantic Canada, and in other areas around the world, but prior to SEANET, there was no regular monitoring on the Atlantic coast of US. Globally, almost all detections of Asian H5N1 in a new locality have been through investigation of mortality events in wild birds or domestic poultry. Only regular and repeated surveillance of appropriate habitats have the sensitivity to detect mortality and provide opportunities to sample moribund or fresh carcasses. Using ongoing surveillance programs, such as SEANET's beached-bird monitoring, to aid in HPAI surveillance provides inexpensive samples and capitalizes on previously established programs. Therefore, we propose to improve surveillance of HPAI H5N1, and other wild bird diseases, along the Atlantic flyway via beached bird surveys and creation of "Atlantic Flyway Coastal Bird Morbidity and Mortality Emergency Response Plans." We will accomplish this goal by: (1) Recruit and train "Local SEANET Coordinators" Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the Atlantic Flyway to help maintain regular surveillance of beaches by volunteers in each region; (2) Create and distribute a Seabird Mortality Incident Emergency Response Plan in each of the three regions of the Flyway; (3) Continue work with the Wildlife Disease Information Node to develop a near- real time web-based reporting site for mass seabird morbidity and mortality events; (4) Revise the datasheets used for SEANET beached bird surveys and alter the web-based data entry system to reflect these changes.
<P>APPROACH: To increase surveillance and improve coordinated reporting of morbidity and mortality events in seabirds and coastal waterbirds, we propose the following actions: (1) Recruit and train "Local SEANET Coordinators" Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the Atlantic Flyway to help maintain regular surveillance of beaches by volunteers in each region. Coordinators would also serve as "first responders" for volunteers reporting mass seabird mortality events and would help in collecting, sampling, and shipping bird carcasses to the National Wildlife Health Center for HPAI testing. Recruiting and training of Coordinators would take place at regional workshops led by SEANET staff. Because much of the northeast region of SEANET has Local Coordinators, we will focus our efforts on recruiting and training Coordinators in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. (2) Create and distribute a Seabird Mortality Incident Emergency Response Plan in each of the three regions of the Flyway. These plans would help to solve some of the issues that arose during the shearwater die-off event in the Southeast in July 2007. The plans will include datasheets and protocols for systematic monitoring of beached birds, a uniform protocol for reporting mass seabird mortality events, a list of key contacts by state and by region, avenues for getting information out to the public about the mortality event (listservs and press releases), instructions for the safe handling and shipping of specimens to identified diagnostic facilities, and a variety of additional key information (See preliminary draft of a Response Plan for the Southeast in Appendix 1). (3) Continue work with the Wildlife Disease Information Node to develop a near- real time web-based reporting site for mass seabird morbidity and mortality events (see "screen shots" below). This system can be used by SEANET collaborators, state agencies, and the public throughout the coastal regions of the Atlantic Flyway. (4) Revise the datasheets used for SEANET beached bird surveys and alter the web-based data entry system to reflect these changes. Standardized bird monitoring protocols are vital to investigations of HPAI and other sources of bird mortality on the east coast. These new datasheets will be used throughout the SEANET network of beaches in all three regions (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast) of the Atlantic Flyway.