title: The ecology of emerging infectious diseases in migratory birds: an assessment of the role of climate change and priorities for future research.
abstract: Pathogens that are maintained by wild birds occasionally jump to human hosts, causing considerable loss of life and disruption to global commerce. Preliminary evidence suggests that climate change and human movements and commerce may have played a role in recent range expansions of avian pathogens. Since the magnitude of climate change in the coming decades is predicted to exceed climatic changes in the recent past, there is an urgent need to determine the extent to which climate change may drive the spread of disease by avian migrants. In this review, we recommend actions intended to mitigate the impact of emergent pathogens of migratory birds on biodiversity and public health. Increased surveillance that builds upon existing bird banding networks is required to conclusively establish a link between climate and avian pathogens and to prevent pathogens with migratory bird reservoirs from spilling over to humans.
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1496, USA. fullertl@ucla.edu
authors.forename: Trevon
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.forename: Staffan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bensch
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Novembre
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pérez-Tris
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Ricklefs
authors.forename: Thomas B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Waldenström
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D001717:Birds; D057231:Climate Change; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000635:transmission* / Q000662:veterinary*; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000662:veterinary*; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000662:veterinary*; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission