Scott H Newman

• DVM, PhD
• Group Leader at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Virtual Learning Centers (VLCs) deliver online tutored courses with the aim of developing field capacity to integrate wildlife and ecosystem elements to approach One Health challenges. These courses also aim to create networks of professionals under the One Health umbrella. These cou...

In Vietnam, breeding and raising a wide range of wildlife species in captive wildlife facilities (CWFs) are common practices but little information on the captive wildlife population is available. We conducted surveys and developed software to create a captive wildlife facilities management (CWFM) system. This database provides up-to-date informati...

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmental change.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), a contagious viral disease affecting small ruminants, has been targeted by the global community for eradication within the next 10 years. However, eradication will require substantial money, human resources, coordination among actors, and individual commitments. The objective was to estimate the cost of PPR at a ho...

Long-distance migrations influence the dynamics of host-pathogen interactions and understanding the role of migratory waterfowl in the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) is important. While wild geese have been associated with outbreak events, disease ecology of closely related species has not been studied to the same e...

Understanding transmission dynamics that link wild and domestic animals is a key element of predicting the emergence of infectious disease, an event that has highest likelihood of occurring wherever human livelihoods depend on agriculture and animal trade. Contact between poultry and wild birds is a key driver of the emergence of highly pathogenic...

Understanding transmission dynamics that link wild and domestic animals is a key element of predicting the emergence of infectious disease, an event that has highest likelihood of occurring wherever human livelihoods depend on agriculture and animal trade. Contact between poultry and wild birds is a key driver of the emergence of highly pathogenic...

Timing of activity can reveal an organism's efforts to optimize foraging either by minimizing energy loss through passive movement or by maximizing energetic gain through foraging. Here, we assess whether signals of either of these strategies are detectable in the timing of activity of daily, local movements by birds. We compare the similarities of...

Timing of activity can reveal an organism's efforts to optimize foraging either by minimizing energy loss through passive movement or by maximizing energetic gain through foraging. Here, we assess whether signals of either of these strategies are detectable in the timing of activity of daily, local movements by birds. We compare the similarities of...

The presence of free-grazing ducks (FGD) has consistently been shown to be associated with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 outbreaks in South-East Asia. However, the lack of knowledge about the transmission pathways limits the effectiveness of control efforts. To address this gap, we developed a probabilistic transmission model...

Motivation: The potentially low precision associated with the geographic origin of sampled sequences represents an important limitation for spatially-explicit (i.e. continuous) phylogeographic inference of fast-evolving pathogens such as RNA viruses. A substantial proportion of publicly available sequences are geo-referenced at broad spatial scale...

Zoonotic diseases require a One Health approach for successful control and elimination due to the nature of their transmission between animals and humans. One Health recognises that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are all interconnected. Ethiopia has committed itself to controlling five prioritised zoonotic diseases (rabies, anth...

Live bird markets (LBMs) are major targets for avian influenza virus (AIV) surveillance programmes. While sampling the LBM environment has become a widely used alternative to the labour-intensive sampling of live poultry, the design of surveillance programmes and the interpretation of their results are compromised by the lack of knowledge about the...

Aim Animal movement is an important determinant of individual survival, population dynamics and ecosystem structure and function. Nonetheless, it is still unclear how local movements are related to resource availability and the spatial arrangement of resources. Using resident bird species and migratory bird species outside the migratory period, we...

Avian influenza has advanced from a regional concern to a global health issue with significant economic, trade, and public health implications. Wild birds, particularly waterfowl (Anseriformes), are known reservoirs for low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (AIV) and recent studies have shown their potential in the spread of highly pathogenic form...

Camels are the most adapted species to the harsh conditions of arid/semi-arid rangelands of Ethiopia where pastoralism is the dominant mode of life and mobility is an inherent strategy to efficiently utilize the spatially and temporally distributed pasture and water resources. Usually, large numbers of camels and other domestic animals from many di...

The Bar-headed Goose is the only true goose species or Anserinae to migrate solely within the Central Asian Flyway, and thus, it is an ideal species for observing the effects of both land use and climate change throughout the flyway. In this paper, we investigate the home range, movement pattern, and habitat selection of Bar-headed Geese (Anser ind...

Context High-resolution animal movement data are becoming increasingly available, yet having a multitude of empirical trajectories alone does not allow us to easily predict animal movement. To answer ecological and evolutionary questions at a population level, quantitative estimates of a species’ potential to link patches or populations are of impo...

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus has been circulating in Vietnam since 2003, whilst outbreaks of HPAI H5N6 virus are more recent, having only been reported since 2014. Although the spatial distribution of H5N1 outbreaks and risk factors for virus occurrence has been extensively studied, there have been no comparative studies for...

In the last few years, several reassortant subtypes of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAI H5Nx) have emerged in East Asia. These new viruses, mostly of subtype H5N1, H5N2, H5N6, and H5N8 belonging to clade 2.3.4.4, have been found in several Asian countries and have caused outbreaks in poultry in China, South Korea, and Vietnam. HPAI H...

Extensive research in Vietnam and elsewhere has shown that live bird markets (LBMs) play a significant role in the ecology and zoonotic transmission of avian influenzas (AIs) including H5N1 and H7N9. Vietnam has a large number of LBMs reflecting the consumer preferences for live poultry. Under pressure to mitigate risks for H7N9 and other zoonotic...

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses continue to threaten smallholder poultry producers in several Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam. In particular , the free-grazing duck system has been repeatedly highlighted as a major risk factor for HPAI outbreaks. Free-grazing ducks, which scavenge on rice paddies after the harvest, acc...

Presence of ducks, and in particular of free-grazing ducks, has consistently been shown to be one of the most important risk factors for highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks which has compromised poultry production in South-East Asia since the early 2000s and continues to threaten public health, farmers’ livelihood and food security. Althoug...

Questionnaire for individual interviews with long-distance free grazing duck farmers. (PDF)

Dataset of sites used for free grazing. (TXT)

Dataset of transporters of free grazing ducks. (TXT)

Questionnaire for individual interviews with rice paddy owners. (PDF)

Dataset of long-distance free grazing duck farmers. (TXT)

Dataset of rice paddy owners. (TXT)

Questionnaire for individual interviews with transporters of free grazing ducks. (PDF)

Birds that migrate across high altitude mountain ranges are faced with the challenge of maintaining vigorous exercise in environments with limited oxygen. Ruddy shelducks are known to use wintering grounds south of the Tibetan Plateau at sea level and breeding grounds north of Himalayan mountain range. Therefore, it is likely these shelducks are pr...

Birds migrating across the Himalayan region fly over the highest peaks in the world, facing immense physiological and climatic challenges. The authors show the different strategies used by birds to cope with these challenges. Many wetland avian species are seen in the high-altitude lakes of the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau, such as B...

Birds migrating across the Himalayan region fly over the highest peaks in the world, facing immense physiological and climatic challenges. The authors show the different strategies used by birds to cope with these challenges. Many wetland avian species are seen in the high-altitude lakes of the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau, such as B...

Birds migrating across the Himalayan region fly over the highest peaks in the world, facing immense physiological and climatic challenges. The authors show the different strategies used by birds to cope with these challenges. Many wetland avian species are seen in the high-altitude lakes of the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau, such as B...

Suitability predictions for the HPAI H5N1 best model (GeoTiff format).DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19571.010

Suitability predictions for the H5Nx clade 2.3.4.4 best model (GeoTiff format).DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19571.011

R script implementing the cross validations (CV); namely, partition into geographic folds, running the BRT models with standard CV, standard CV accounting for the spatial sorting bias (SSB), and the spatial CV. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19571.017

Global disease suitability models are essential tools to inform surveillance systems and enable early detection. We present the first global suitability model of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 and demonstrate that reliable predictions can be obtained at global scale. Best predictions are obtained using spatial predictor variables des...

Most animals live in seasonal environments and experience very different conditions throughout the year. Behavioral strategies like migration, hibernation, and a life cycle adapted to the local seasonality help to cope with fluctuations in environmental conditions. Thus, how an individual utilizes the environment depends both on the current availab...

The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus has been circulating in Asia since 2003 and diversified into several genetic lineages, or clades. Although the spatial distribution of its outbreaks was extensively studied, differences in clades were never previously taken into account. We developed models to quantify associations over time a...

Live bird markets are often the focus of surveillance activities monitoring avian influenza viruses (AIV) circulating in poultry. However, in order to ensure a high sensitivity of virus detection and effectiveness of management actions, poultry management practices features influencing AIV dynamics need to be accounted for in the design of surveill...

Agro-ecological conditions associated with the spread and persistence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) are not well understood, but the trade of live poultry is suspected to be a major pathway. Although market chains of live bird trade have been studied through indirect means including interviews and questionnaires, direct methods have n...

Despite their classification as low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses (LPAIV), A/H9N2 viruses cause significant losses in poultry in many countries throughout Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. To date, poultry surveillance in Vietnam has focused on detection of influenza H5 viruses, and there is limited understanding of influenza H9 epide...

One of the longest-persisting avian influenza viruses in history, highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) A(H5N1), continues to evolve after 18 yr, advancing the threat of a global pandemic. Wild waterfowl (family Anatidae) are reported as secondary transmitters of HPAIV and primary reservoirs for low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses, yet...

Advanced satellite tracking technologies enable biologists to track animal movements at fine spatial and temporal scales. The resultant data present opportunities and challenges for understanding animal behavioral mechanisms. In this paper, we develop a new method to elucidate animal movement patterns from tracking data. Here, we propose the notion...

The rapid transformation of the livestock sector in recent decades brought concerns on its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, disruptions to nitrogen and phosphorous cycles and on land use change, particularly deforestation for production of feed crops. Animal and human health are increasingly interlinked through emerging infectious diseases, zoon...

Hunting and loss of natural habitats increasingly threaten tropical biodiversity and ecosystems, particularly in Southeast Asia. Flying foxes often persist in anthropogenic areas where other wildlife has vanished, and where they play a significant ecological role in vegetation regeneration in disturbed habitats. Detailed knowledge on the foraging b...

The technical advances of positioning technologies enable us to track animal movements at finer spatial and temporal scales, and further help to discover a variety of complex interactive relationships. In this paper, considering the loose gathering characteristics of the real-life groups' members during the movements, we propose two kinds of loose...

Background: In 2008-09, evidence of Reston ebolavirus (RESTV) infection was found in domestic pigs and pig workers in the Philippines. With species of bats having been shown to be the cryptic reservoir of filoviruses elsewhere, the Philippine government, in conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, assembled a m...

Previous work suggests domestic poultry are important contributors to the emergence and transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza throughout Asia. In Poyang Lake, China, domestic duck production cycles are synchronized with arrival and departure of thousands of migratory wild birds in the area. During these periods, high densities of juveni...

Population connectivity is an important consideration in studies of disease transmission and biological conservation, especially with regard to migratory species. Determining how and when different subpopulations intermingle during different phases of the annual cycle can help identify important geographical regions or features as targets for conse...

Habitat availability for Afrotropical waterbirds is highly dynamic with unpredictable rainfall patterns and ephemeral wetlands resulting in diverse movement strategies among different species. Movement strategies among waterfowl encompass resident, regional and intercontinental migrants, but little quantitative information exists on their specific...

A semi-structured, semi-quantitative MS Excel© based assessment tool was developed and pilot tested to assess needs and gaps at national, subnational and local levels in Viet Nam and Indonesia through consultative meetings. Capacity elements that were assessed at all three levels include institutional structures and relationships, human resource de...

The current study evaluated the test characteristics of a commercially available rapid antigen test (The Anigen® Rapid AIV Ag test) for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Diagnostic specimens were collected from 175 ducks at markets and under controlled laboratory conditions in Vietnam. The relative diagnostic test sensitivity and the relati...

Identifying movement routes and stopover sites is necessary for developing effective management and conservation strategies for migratory animals. In the case of migratory birds, a collection of migration routes, known as a flyway, is often hundreds to thousands of kilometers long and can extend across political boundaries. Flyways encompass the en...

Geese need to hug the land to fly high Animal migrations provide numerous examples of astonishing feats. Impressive even among these is the migration of bar-headed geese across the Himalayan Mountains, which reach heights of thousands of meters. Bishop et al. remotely monitored birds' heart rates, movement, and body temperature during migration. Th...

The increasing availability of animal tracking data brings us opportunities and challenges to intuitively understand the mechanisms of animal activities. In this paper, we aim to discover animal movement patterns from animal trajectory data. In particular, we propose a notion of continuous activity pattern as the concise representation of underlyin...

Active surveillance for avian influenza (Al) viruses in poultry sold at live bird markets (LBMs) was conducted in 44 of 63 provinces throughout Vietnam over two periods from September 2011 to February 2012 and October 2012 to June 2013. The study objectives were to assess the prevalence of avian influenza type A, H5, and H5N1 subtype viruses and ch...

Satellite-based tracking of migratory waterfowl is an important tool for understanding the potential role of wild birds in the long-distance transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, employing this technique on a continental scale is prohibitively expensive. This study explores the utility of stable isotope ratios in feathers in e...

Relationship between species’ home range and their other biological traits remains poorly understood, especially in migratory birds due to the difficulty associated with tracking them. Advances in satellite telemetry and remote sensing techniques have proved instrumental in overcoming such challenges. We studied the space use of migratory ducks thr...

Studying the ecology of endangered species in portions of their range where the population remains abundant can provide fundamental information for conservation planners. We studied nesting by radio-tagged Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) during 2007 and 2008 in Port Snettisham, a relatively pristine, remote mainland fjord in southeast...

For decades, southern China has been considered to be an important source for emerging influenza viruses since key hosts live together in high densities in areas with intensive agriculture. However, the underlying conditions of emergence and spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV) have not been studied in detail, particularly the complex spatiotemp...

Species of Old World fruit-bats (family Pteropodidae) have been identified as the natural hosts of a number of novel and highly pathogenic viruses threatening livestock and human health. We used GPS data loggers to record the nocturnal foraging movements of Acerodon jubatus, the Golden-crowned flying fox in the Philippines to better understand the...

Protected areas from Northern Botswana such as the Okavango Delta (OD) or Chobe National Park (CNP) are well known hot spots for the conservation of African wildlife. However, their infection status regarding bovine tuberculosis (BTB) at the domestic-wildlife interface has never been investigated. In order to provide preliminary baseline data on th...

Background: Wild waterfowl are the ancestral reservoirs for avian influenza A viruses and support the persistence of these viruses in nature. Domestic ducks, as well as resident and migratory wild birds, inhabit the freshwater wetlands in northern Bangladesh during the winter months (November to March). The coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal are al...

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 remains a serious concern for both poultry and human health. Wild waterfowl are considered to be the reservoir for low pathogenic avian influenza viruses; however, relatively little is known about their movement ecology in regions where HPAI H5N1 outbreaks regularly occur. We studied movements of the ruddy she...

Background Understanding how environmental conditions, especially wind, influence birds' flight speeds is a prerequisite for understanding many important aspects of bird flight, including optimal migration strategies, navigation, and compensation for wind drift. Recent developments in tracking technology and the increased availability of data on la...

Since 2005, clade 2.2 H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses have caused infections and morbidity among numerous species of wild waterfowl in Eurasia and Africa. However, outbreaks associated with clade 2.3.2 viruses have increased since 2009, and viruses within this clade have become the dominant strain of the H5N1 HPAI virus detect...

Bar-headed geese are renowned for migratory flights at extremely high altitudes over the world's tallest mountains, the Himalayas, where partial pressure of oxygen is dramatically reduced while flight costs, in terms of rate of oxygen consumption, are greatly increased. Such a mismatch is paradoxical, and it is not clear why geese might fly higher...

The connectivity and frequency of exchange between sub-populations of migratory birds is integral to understanding population dynamics over the entire species' range. True geese are highly philopatric and acquire lifetime mates during the winter, suggesting that the number of distinct sub-populations may be related to the number of distinct winteri...

Heterogeneity in the transmission rates of pathogens across hosts or environments may produce disease hotspots, which are defined as specific sites, times or species associations in which the infection rate is consistently elevated. Hotspots for avian influenza virus (AIV) in wild birds are largely unstudied and poorly understood. A striking featur...

Summary of the worldwide investigation of AIV infection in ruddy turnstone. (DOCX)

Seroprevalence of AIV antibodies in shorebird species sampled at the Banc d'Arguin (Mauritania) and the Inner Niger Delta (Mali). (DOCX)

List of sampling sites ranked by latitude and sampling details. (DOCX)

Results of the model selection procedure relating variations in seroprevalence of AIV antibodies to species ecological traits in shorebirds sampled at two West African sites (Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania; Inner Niger Delta, Mali). (DOCX)

Number of AIV-positive birds detected per species for a given sampling occasion compared to the threshold number of positive birds (solid line) below which the prevalence is unlikely (probability <0.05) to be greater than 10% for a sample of the same size. Points on or above the line represent potential species-hotspots, i.e. species for a given sa...

Overview of the shorebird species tested for AIV infection († species reported infected with AIV for the first time). (DOCX)

List of the world's largest wader congregation sites ranked by latitude on all continents. These sites correspond to locations that support at least 500,000 waders annually selected from Internationally Important Sites databases (main sources: America - Western Hemisphere Shorebird Network; Africa and Western Eurasia - Delany et al., 2009; Australa...