After experiencing the SARS outbreak in 2003, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan all invested in various techniques to mitigate future pandemics involving myriad cross-species interactions between humans and birds. In some locations microbiologists allied with veterinarians and birdwatchers to follow the mutations of flu viruses in birds and humans and create preparedness strategies, while in others, public health officials worked toward preventing pandemics by killing thousands of birds. In Avian Reservoirs Frédéric Keck offers a comparative analysis of these responses, tracing how the anticipation of bird flu pandemics has changed relations between birds and humans in China. Drawing on anthropological theory and ethnographic fieldwork, Keck demonstrates that varied strategies dealing with the threat of pandemics—stockpiling vaccines and samples in Taiwan, simulating pandemics in Singapore, and monitoring viruses and disease vectors in Hong Kong—reflect local geopolitical relations to mainland China. In outlining how interactions among pathogens, birds, and humans shape the way people imagine future pandemics, Keck illuminates how interspecies relations are crucial for protecting against such threats.

Frédéric Keck is Senior Researcher at CNRS, director of the Laboratory for Social Anthropology in Paris, coeditor of The Anthropology of Epidemics, and author of several books in French.

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Part I. Animal Diseases
1. Culling, Vaccinating, and Monitoring Contagious Animals 11
2. Biosecurity Concerns and the Surveillance of Zoonoses 29
3. Global Health and the Ecologies of Conservation 44
Part II. Techniques of Preparedness
4. Sentinels and Early Warning Signals 69
5. Simulations and Reverse Scenarios 108
6. Stockpiling and Storage 139
Conclusion 173
Notes 179
Bibliography  211
Index  237