VEO conducted a second migratory bird, mosquito and environmental sampling expedition to west Greenland in 2023. This region was chosen because climate change is expected to impact the ecosystem, which has the potential to fundamentally change the dynamics of infectious diseases. This video shows the stark contrast between the sampling expedition in 2022 and 2023. The difference in weather conditions as well as the need for additional precautions due to the possible presence of avian influenza in the sampling birds can really affect sampling as well as sampling team morale.
The team is releasing a video (VEO Greenland Expedition 2023), made by a participating team member of the expedition, to illustrate the challenges and demands of such remote fieldwork. This video demonstrates the efforts behind the science (gathering samples and surveillance data), and the essential, organized, and disciplined teamwork required for success in capturing birds and collecting mosquito and environmental samples in such a vast wilderness.
This month-long expedition included 11 members whose expertise included two veterinarians, ornithologists, ecologists, and an expedition leader with essential local geographical knowledge and practical experience in this environment. The first expedition to Greenland took place during the summer of 2022. The compilation of data and analysis of results are ongoing.
The VEO Greenland expedition has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 874735, and was planned and enabled in collaboration with the Greenland White-fronted Goose Study Group (GWfGS). VEO acknowledges the Ministry of Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Business and Trade of the Greenland Government for authorizing the 2022 and 2023 sampling expedition.
The VEO project, versatile emerging infectious disease observatory: Forecasting, nowcasting and tracking in a changing world, has five scenario-based work packages:
- Mosquito-Borne Diseases Use Case Scenario (WP05)
- Zoonotic Wildlife Use Case Scenario (WP06)
- The Changing Cryosphere – Climate Use Case Scenario (WP07)
- Understanding Silent Epidemics Use Case Scenario (WP08)
- Disease X Use Case Scenario (WP09)
WP06 and WP07 have crossover relations to determine
- Can we identify the key wild bird species acting as reservoirs or long-distance carriers of zoonotic avian viruses in Europe by a combination of tools developed in VEO for molecular and serological surveillance?
and
- What is the impact of changing migratory bird routes in Greenland on zoonotic wildlife and mosquito-borne disease?VEO's vision is to establish a versatile emerging infectious diseases forecasting, nowcasting, and tracking system that serves as an interactive virtual observatory for the generation and distribution of high-quality actionable information for evidence-based early warning, risk assessment and monitoring of emerging infectious disease (EID) threats by public health actors and researchers in the One Health domain.