Jordan joins int’l network to combat spread of disease among migratory birds

AMMAN — Jordan is participating in a multinational effort to understand and control the spread of disease among migratory birds, said a statement on Sunday from the Royal Scientific Society (RSS). 

The Avian Zoonotic Disease Network (AZDN) aims to detect dangerous infectious diseases and pathogens of pandemic potential, such as avian influenza.

Nisreen Daif Allah Al Hmoud, director of the Biosafety and Biosecurity Centre at the RSS, said in the statement that the network will be proactive in developing on-the-ground strategies and bio-surveillance techniques.

The network will investigate the presence of pathogens in migratory birds, examine host and environmental determinants of infections, and implement protocols across the Kingdom, Georgia, Ukraine and the US.

The AZDN, funded by a research grant from the US Department of Defence’s “Defence Threat Reduction Agency’s Biological Threat Reduction Programme”, will focus its efforts on the “Mediterranean and Black Sea Flyway”— the main migration route for birds between Africa and Europe.

Through the AZDN network, countries will be able to utilise sequencing technologies and bioinformatics to better understand the ecology of emerging diseases.

The RSS Centre for Biosafety and Biosecurity is a platform for conducting studies and research projects related to the preservation of human health and the environment. The centre specialises in the areas of microbiology, viruses, molecular biology, health and environmental safety, risk assessment and management.