Using Twitter signals for health intelligence in the context of avian influenza viruses (AIV) spanning a panzootic

Communicating health risks, as well as understanding public perceptions of health officials and risk communicators, in the face of potentially zoonotic panzootics is becoming increasingly critical. Avian influenza virus (AIV) is of growing concern for animal and human health and requires tailored messaging to at-risk groups, such as poultry owners. Social media is both a medium through which experts can distribute risk messaging to the public and a source of information on the nature of public discourse regarding avian influenza. The latter is necessary to facilitate more efficient and effective communication with at risk groups, to determine appropriate platforms for risk communication, and to identify the most impactful spokespeople for communication campaigns. The objectives of this study were to: 1) Use a combination of machine learning topic modelling and manual thematic analysis to determine the themes that can be derived from what people are saying about AIV on social media; and 2) to apply Peter Sandman’s Hazard-Outrage Model to understand how these conversations relate to concepts of hazard and risk. We collected tweets (n=480,000) from the platform X (forming known as Twitter) generated globally from January 1, 2022, through April 30, 2023, concurrent with the longest and largest panzootic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), that included the terms: “Avian Influenza or “AIV” or “H5N1” or “HPAI” or bird flu. The results from this study will be presented along with implications for those aiming to reduce the risk of transmission of and exposures to AIV.

Cassandra L. Andrew* School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, 2206 E Mall, Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z3 Shane Eastwood Digital Democracies Institute, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive Burnaby, B.C. Canada V5A 1S6 Kaylee A. Byers Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, B.C. Canada V5A 1S6 Heidi Tworek Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, 6476 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z2 Chelsea Himsworth, Office of the Chief Veterinarian, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food , 1767 Angus Campbell Road, Abbotsford, B.C., V3G 2M3, Canada

Avian influenza in mammals, pandemic preparedness, and one health