Working with our publishing partner Taylor & Francis, we have brought together a suite of scientific studies across two issues of Bird Study that both document the spread and impact of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) on wild birds and assess the effectiveness of management responses. By doing this, we hope that lessons learned from the 2021 to 2023 outbreak will ensure that we are better prepared for future outbreaks of this, and other, diseases.

Aims

The goal of this special issue was to document what we know so far from Europe, but also to gather contributions that documented the broader geography and impacts of the outbreaks on wild bird populations globally, developed predictive models of avian influenza spread and impact, tested management interventions, and explored other aspects of disease transmission. We were particularly keen to attract research articles and short communications related (but not limited) to the following topics:

• Host susceptibility and immunity: research investigating the factors that influence which wild bird species are more susceptible to HPAI and why.
• Impact on populations: research documenting or assessing the impact of HPAI on wild bird populations, including effects on reproduction, survival, and population dynamics. This can be at large-scales, or focussed on particular sites.
• Disease transmission dynamics: research exploring how HPAI spreads among wild bird populations; for example, transmission routes (such as migratory patterns, social behaviours, and environmental reservoirs), how disease spreads between individual birds, and how the virus evolves into different strains over time and impacts different bird populations.
• Epidemiology and surveillance: research testing and documenting effective monitoring and surveillance strategies.
• Disease interactions: research investigating the interactions between wild birds, domestic poultry, other taxa (e.g. mammals) and human populations, including work on biosecurity measures and interventions at these interfaces. This could also include One Health approaches.
• Conservation responses: papers testing interventions to reduce transmission risk or impacts of disease, or considering potential conservation responses to HPAI impacts on wild birds.
• Policy responses: papers outlining potential policy responses to reduce the risk of future HPAI outbreaks, including a One Health approach. Considering the global nature of the virus, papers in this area could be national or international in focus.