WP2 Impact of vaccination on surveillance approaches and transmission patterns

Summary of WP2 Objectives and Tasks

WP2 focuses on understanding the impact of vaccination strategies on avian influenza virus (AIV) surveillance and circulation. It aims to develop effective surveillance methods and identify optimal vaccination strategies to reduce epidemiological risks.

Tasks Overview:

Tracking Minor Variants (Task 2.1):

The objective is to develop methods using next-generation sequencing to identify rare immune escape variants under suboptimal vaccination conditions. The candidate will evaluate these methods with samples from INRAE, Sciensano, and IZSVe.

Genomic Evolution in Egypt (Task 2.2):

The objective is to monitor genomic changes in AIVs in vaccinated and unvaccinated poultry using advanced bioinformatics. The candidate willprovide tools for early detection and analyze circulation dynamics in collaboration with other tasks.

Rethinking Surveillance (Task 2.3):

The objective is to evaluate environmental sampling methods to detect AIVs in vaccinated flocks in Morocco and beyond. The candidate will optimize sampling strategies and analyze virus transmission dynamics with field data feeding into phylodynamic models.

Risk Mapping and Phylodynamics (Task 2.4):

The objective is to perform risk mapping and phylogeographic analyses of AIV spread in different vaccination contexts (Egypt, Morocco, France). The candidate will use genomic data to estimate transmission parameters and identify factors driving virus spread.

Modelling Vaccination Strategies (Task 2.5):

The objective is to develop population-scale mechanistic models to evaluate vaccination scenarios and their effectiveness. The candidate will integrate farmer compliance with biosecurity and provide evidence-based policy recommendations for national vaccination strategies in France and the Netherlands.

Key Collaborations:

The tasks involve close cooperation with various partners (INRAE, NRC, IAV, Sciensano, IZSVe, WR, WU) to enhance surveillance methods, track virus evolution, and guide policy on vaccination strategies.