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NWO support for bird flu research in the Arctic and Antarctic regions
The Polarflu project, which studies bird flu in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, will receive funding from the Netherlands Polar Programme, part of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The project is led by Erasmus MC, in collaboration with Wageningen Bioveterinary Research and Wageningen Marine Research—both institutes of Wageningen University & Research.
The NWO’s Netherlands Polar Program funds scientific research in and into the polar regions. In these areas, avian flu has repeatedly affected various species of birds and wild mammals. The Polarflu project aims to gain insight into the presence of the bird flu virus and its different subtypes in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Due to the remote locations and difficult accessibility of the polar regions, it is unknown which subtypes of the virus are present there and whether there are differences between the two polar regions. “With a serological method, we can investigate whether the animal has suffered previous exposures to bird flu and to which type. It is also possible to assess immunity levels within populations this way,” says Monika Ballmann, bird flu researcher at Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR) and head of the National Reference Laboratory for Avian Flu.
Sampling
To gather samples, the Polarflu team is making use of ongoing expeditions and the efforts of bird researchers already working in the polar regions. “Our colleagues at Wageningen Marine Research have a strong network of experts in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, which we can effectively tap into for sampling birds ‒ and potentially mammals ‒ for the Polarflu project,” Ballmann explains.
The first samples from the South Pole will be taken in late 2025. At the South Pole, the focus will be on dead birds and mammals found by expeditions and excursions in the area. During the breeding season, research in the Arctic will rely on the expertise of bird researchers who capture, ring, and release birds as part of their studies. Samples will be collected over the next three years to assess both the presence of the bird flu virus and the birds' immunity to it.
From Erasmus MC, researchers led by Thijs Kuiken are looking into the genome sequence of the viruses found. They are also doing pathological research on dead animals. Within the project, WBVR will perform the serological tests, to determine the immunity levels and investigate which subtypes have been circulating in the bird populations.
PolarFlu has a duration of three years and is supported with EUR 500,000 from NWO.