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Bird flu gone for a year, but mystery remains
Business Mark Steil ? Worthington, Minn. ? Jun 6, 2016
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Cornicelli says there's no doubt migrating ducks and geese played a role, but he's always been a little skeptical if they deserve all the blame.
Cornicelli says there were few waterfowl in the state when the first outbreak ocurred a year ago March. More than 6,000 field tests of ducks and geese were all negative. The virus was detected in the wild only in one hawk and one chickadee.
Some animal health researchers suspected other species were spreading the virus from the start. Maybe even small mammals. A study published last month offers some evidence to back that up. Tom DeLiberto says his team of researchers at Colorado's National Wildlife Research Center found that skunks and rabbits can spread the avian influenza virus.
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"I'm not sure that I'm ready to say this is the way that the virus got around, but it certainly a good thing to take a look at and understand better," said Cardona. "Is it possible that these small mammals played a role? It looks like it is a possibility and something that we should consider."
There haven't been any new bird flu cases in Minnesota and only one in the U.S. since the nation's worst outbreak of deadly avian influenza ended a year ago. But that doesn't mean it can't return. The virus has been active in other parts of the world, and there are known pathways for migrating birds to bring it to the U.S. again.
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See also:
Biologist: Rabbits, skunks can pass bird flu to ducks
Business Mark Steil ? Worthington, Minn. ? Jun 6, 2016
...
Cornicelli says there's no doubt migrating ducks and geese played a role, but he's always been a little skeptical if they deserve all the blame.
Cornicelli says there were few waterfowl in the state when the first outbreak ocurred a year ago March. More than 6,000 field tests of ducks and geese were all negative. The virus was detected in the wild only in one hawk and one chickadee.
Some animal health researchers suspected other species were spreading the virus from the start. Maybe even small mammals. A study published last month offers some evidence to back that up. Tom DeLiberto says his team of researchers at Colorado's National Wildlife Research Center found that skunks and rabbits can spread the avian influenza virus.
...
"I'm not sure that I'm ready to say this is the way that the virus got around, but it certainly a good thing to take a look at and understand better," said Cardona. "Is it possible that these small mammals played a role? It looks like it is a possibility and something that we should consider."
There haven't been any new bird flu cases in Minnesota and only one in the U.S. since the nation's worst outbreak of deadly avian influenza ended a year ago. But that doesn't mean it can't return. The virus has been active in other parts of the world, and there are known pathways for migrating birds to bring it to the U.S. again.
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See also:
Biologist: Rabbits, skunks can pass bird flu to ducks
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