Surveillance and Analysis of Avian Influenza Viruses, Australia

TOC Summary: A lineage unique to Australia has been identified

Indigenous Perspectives of Resilience: Strength and Adaptive Strategies

The circumstances of each Indigenous group are unique, and generalizations about Indigenous per- spectives on resilience may not apply to particular cases. Built on the common understandings of Indigenous scholars, Indigenous resilience focuses on the innate determination of Indigenous peoples to succeed rather than to overcome chal- lenges. Valaskakis (2009) claim it is cantered in “a search for success” (p. 3), and Reid et al. (1996) defined it as “the capability of individuals to cope and flourish successfully in the face of significant adversity or risk” (p. 7). For Indigenous peoples, success involves a holistic understanding of the inextricable link between spirituality, culture, healing, and connection to land. To be successful is to have a strong sense of community and a spiritual relationship with all life forms. Indige- nous peoples were able to continue with their traditional culture and ways of living despite col- onization processes. Restoring cultural values and knowledge of Indigenous groups that faced colo- nial suppression is central to nurture resilience and, therefore, success and well-being across the community. Indigenous peoples have been prac- ticing resilience before it was a concept developed by Western scientists (Berkes et al. 2000); there- fore, their perspectives of resilience cannot be properly understood under Western frameworks

Australia as a global sink for the genetic diversity of avian influenza A virus

Most of our understanding of the ecology and evolution of avian influenza A virus (AIV) in wild birds is derived from studies conducted in the northern hemisphere on waterfowl, with a substantial bias towards dabbling ducks. However, relevant environmental conditions and patterns of avian migration and reproduction are substantially different in the southern hemisphere. Through the sequencing and analysis of 333 unique AIV genomes collected from wild birds collected over 15 years we show that Australia is a global sink for AIV diversity and not integrally linked with the Eurasian gene pool. Rather, AIV are infrequently introduced to Australia, followed by decades of isolated circulation and eventual extinction. The number of co-circulating viral lineages varies per subtype. AIV haemagglutinin (HA) subtypes that are rarely identified at duck-centric study sites (H8-12) had more detected introductions and contemporary co-circulating lineages in Australia. Combined with a lack of duck migration beyond the Australian-Papuan region, these findings suggest introductions by long-distance migratory shorebirds. In addition, on the available data we found no evidence of directional or consistent patterns in virus movement across the Australian continent. This feature corresponds to patterns of bird movement, whereby waterfowl have nomadic and erratic rainfall-dependant distributions rather than consistent intra-continental migratory routes. Finally, we detected high levels of virus gene segment reassortment, with a high diversity of AIV genome constellations across years and locations. These data, in addition to those from other studies in Africa and South America, clearly show that patterns of AIV dynamics in the Southern Hemisphere are distinct from those in the temperate north

South African Curriculum Studies: A Historical Perspective and Autobiographical Account

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