Avian influenza (AI) is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus. Recently we have been concerned with the H5 and H7 strains of AI, which have crossed from birds to humans, and caused flu outbreaks in Eurasia. The severity of clinical disease and extent of mortality associated with H5 and H7 infections are dependent on variables such as: species, age, sex, other infections, viral strains, and environmental conditions. Signs and symptoms can vary considerably. Surveillance programs aid in detecting AI infections in the absence of clinical signs.

Bio Sketch
Dominic Travis graduated with a B.S. in Zoology from North Carolina State University and received his D.V.M from the Michigan State College of Veterinary Medicine in 1997. He received his Master of Veterinary Science in Epidemiology from the University of Maryland in 2000. Travis joined Lincoln Park Zoo in 2000 as Veterinary Epidemiologist in the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology and was recently named Director of the center.ÊHis research involves studying the zoonotic and emerging infectious diseases and how they are impacted by relationships between humans, domestic animals and wildlife. Current projects include coordinating numerous national surveillance systems in wildlife for diseases such as West Nile virus and tuberculosis and studying the prevalence of diseases of nonhuman primates in captivity. As a member of the zooÕs Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Travis also studies ecosystem health issue in the Gombe chimpanzees and advises the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project on outbreak contingency planning and epidemiological analysis of field medical records.