As the virus spreads globally. Lack of coordinated surveillance in Pakistan increases the threat to wildlife and humans.
A person holds a test tube labeled “Bird Flu,” in this 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 necessary to monitor, evaluate and respond to the virus.
The warning comes amid rising wildlife mortality around the world and the continued global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI H5) viruses, raising serious concerns about One Health, an integrated approach to health that emphasizes the connection between animal health and the environment in which they coexist, linking wildlife, livestock and humans.
According to the World Organization for Animal Health, HPAI H5 viruses have spread across several continents since 2021 and are now affecting a wide range of bird and mammal species.
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During 2025, Europe recorded exceptionally high HPAI activity during the wild bird migration season, and diagnosed cases were 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 these large-scale mortality events are contributing to population declines, disruption of breeding cycles, and long-term ecological imbalance. The increasing spread of the virus to mammalian populations has further intensified concerns about the possibility of cross-species transmission.
In this global context, the head of the Department of Zoology of the University of Punjab, Dr. Zulfiqar Ali, described the situation in Pakistan as alarming. He said the country is far behind in its ability to respond to emerging wildlife health crises and does not have an organized, coordinated and adequately resourced system to monitor HPAI in wild birds and mammals.
Dr Zulfiqar Ali said neither the Ministry of Climate Change nor the provincial wildlife and livestock departments have specialized diagnostic laboratories, genomic sequencing facilities or trained wildlife health experts. As a result, timely detection, confirmation and notification of diseases in wildlife remain largely impossible.
He added that disease surveillance in Pakistan is mainly limited 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.
Furthermore, it highlighted the lack of standardized mechanisms in the country 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 meaningfully contribute to regional and global HPAI research and reporting efforts.
According to Dr Ali, Pakistan is also located along important bird migratory routes and is home to ecologically important 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, it says.
Dr Babar Saleem, former veterinarian at Lahore Zoo, 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 between countries and continents.
Dr Saleem said predatory birds and certain zoo animals are also vulnerable, causing dangerous disruptions to wildlife ecosystems. It warned that the virus can spread from wildlife to domestic poultry, where outbreaks can cause extremely high mortality rates.
He added that outbreaks in poultry could disrupt food supply chains and drive 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 possibility of a broader pandemic.
Dr. Saleem said there is currently no effective treatment or vaccine for HPAI. In severe outbreaks, culling 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 wildlife health surveillance, diagnosis and governance, Pakistan will remain highly vulnerable to the growing global threat posed by HPAI.
