Avian reservoirs

Description

"In Avian reservoirs, Frederic Keck observes collaborations between microbiologists and birdwatchers working to preempt and contain bird flu pandemics. The threat of avian flu has increased attention to the human/bird boundary in these areas, and the cross-species relationship has been a focus for both virus hunters and public health officials. Keck divides their responses into preparedness and prevention, and describes that distinction by borrowing from an unexpected source -- the anthropology of hunter gathers. Bird watchers and biologists track birds and viruses to understand and anticipate their habits. Public Health officials aiming at prevention will readily order the killing of thousands of birds to wipe out a virus. Keck looks at how the response of each group varies between Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The differences in the local approaches reflect their differing relations to China, forming a kind of proxy for wider social and geopolitical views. The anticipatory practices of governments and scientists in response to pandemics show how human-animal relations continue to shape the way people imagine their futures on a global scale. The chapters are divided into two parts. Part I focuses on how pandemic precautionary measures developed out of museums and labs that study animal diseases. Chapter 1 examines how scientists seek out populations of infected animals, isolate a pathogen or virus, and monitor animals to prevent infectious disease or develop vaccines to prevent future outbreaks. Chapter 2 discusses virologist Ron Fouchier's research on the H5N1 virus that first broke out in Hong Kong in the late 1990s"--

Subjects

Series Statement

• Experimental Futures