Bird Flu Research at the Center for Tropical Research

The UCLA Center for Tropical Research (CTR) is at the forefront of research and surveillance efforts on avian influenza virus (bird flu or avian flu) in wild birds. CTR has led avian influenza survey efforts on migratory landbirds in both North America and Central Africa since spring 2006. We have recently been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a large study in North, Central, and South America on the effects of bird migration and human habitat disturbance on the distribution and transmission of bird flu. These studies take advantage of our unique collaboration with the major bird banding station networks in the Americas, our extensive experience in avian field research in Central Africa, and UCLA’s unique resources and expertise in infectious diseases though the UCLA School of Public Health and its Department of Epidemiology.