As virus spreads globally. lack of coordinated surveillance in Pakistan heightens threat to wildlife, humans
A person holds a test tube labelled “Bird Flu”, in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/PHOTO:REUTERS
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A is emerging as a major global threat to wildlife, ecosystems and human health. Experts warn that Pakistan lacks the institutional and scientific capacity required to monitor, assess and respond to the virus.
The warning comes amid rising wildlife mortality worldwide and the continued global spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (HPAI H5) viruses, raising serious One Health concerns — an integrated approach to health that emphasises the connection between animal health and the environment in which they coexist — that links wildlife, livestock and humans.
According to the World Organisation for Animal Health, HPAI H5 viruses have spread across multiple continents since 2021 and are now affecting a wide range of bird and mammal species.
During 2025, Europe recorded exceptionally high HPAI activity during the wild bird migration season, with diagnosed cases reported to be four times higher than in 2024. In Germany alone, more than 20,000 common cranes were reported dead. The virus has also been confirmed in birds and mammals in North America and parts of the South Atlantic region.
Global experts say such large-scale mortality events are contributing to population declines, disruption of breeding cycles and long-term ecological imbalance. The increasing spillover of the virus into mammal populations has further intensified concerns over the potential for cross-species transmission.
In this global context, the head of the Department of Zoology at Punjab University, Dr Zulfiqar Ali, described Pakistan’s situation as alarming. He said the country is severely lagging in its ability to respond to emerging wildlife health crises and has no organised, coordinated or adequately resourced system to monitor HPAI in wild birds and mammals.
Dr Zulfiqar Ali said neither the Ministry of Climate Change nor provincial wildlife and livestock departments have specialised diagnostic laboratories, genomic sequencing facilities or trained wildlife health experts. As a result, timely detection, confirmation and reporting of diseases in wildlife remain largely impossible.
He added that disease surveillance in Pakistan is mostly confined to the poultry sector, while scientific data on wildlife health is almost non-existent. He warned that this gap significantly increases the risk of disease transmission between wildlife, livestock and humans.
He further highlighted the country’s lack of standardised mechanisms for examining wildlife carcasses, biosafety protocols for field staff and real-time data sharing between federal and provincial institutions, weaknesses that leave Pakistan unable to contribute meaningfully to regional and global HPAI reporting and research efforts.
According to Dr Ali, Pakistan also lies along major migratory bird flyways and hosts ecologically significant wetlands, river deltas and coastal ecosystems. In the absence of a robust wildlife health framework, the country faces serious risks to biodiversity, public health and the economy, he says.
Former veterinary officer at Lahore Zoo, Dr Babar Saleem, said HPAI is spreading globally and poses significant risks to wildlife, poultry and potentially human health. He explained that migratory birds act as key carriers, transmitting the virus across countries and continents.
Dr Saleem said predatory birds and certain zoo animals are also vulnerable, leading to dangerous disruptions in wildlife ecosystems. He warned that the virus can spread from wildlife to domestic poultry, where outbreaks can cause extremely high mortality rates.
He added that poultry outbreaks could disrupt food supply chains and push up meat prices. Limited human cases have already been reported globally, while recent detections of the virus in livestock have raised concerns about viral adaptation and the potential for a wider pandemic.
Dr Saleem said there is currently no effective treatment or vaccine for HPAI. In severe outbreaks, culling of affected birds or poultry farms remains the most effective measure to prevent further spread to animals and humans, he said.
Experts stress that without urgent investment in surveillance, diagnostics and wildlife health governance, Pakistan will remain highly vulnerable to the growing global threat posed by HPAI.
