Minnesota - DNR may test waterfowl blood for bird flu

[Pathfinder]

DNR may test waterfowl blood for bird flu

Environment Lorna Benson ? Apr 28, 2015

Officials searching for answers to the state's avian influenza epidemic are considering adding blood testing of wild birds to their surveillance program.

Currently, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources collects wild bird droppings for flu testing. But those samples only show if a bird was infected at the time of testing. None of the nearly 1,000 fecal samples tested so far have been positive for the virus.

The Minnesota Turkey Growers Association says the DNR should add blood testing because those results would reveal if migrating birds in Minnesota had ever encountered the virus.
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http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/04/28/avian-flu

 

[Emily]

The blood testing MTGA is asking for is highly invasive. I don't think that is wise since it would stress birds, both those captured and those in the vicinity of the trapping. Raising stress and associated stress-related hormones in birds has been shown to make them more vulnerable to flu. That would increase the regional viral load. Do bird producers really want to do that?

Turkey producers want to know how widely the virus is circulating in wild birds and blood tests would help answer that question, said Steve Olson, the turkey groups executive director.
"What that's going to tell us is whether there's antibodies in that blood," he said. "That basically means that bird, at some point, has been exposed to the virus."

And how will that help turkey producers? It will not prove that migrating birds are bringing viruses into the area. They could have been infected while grazing near turkey farms. Or there is that viral plume theory...if viral plumes are getting into the barn, they can be getting out and infecting wildlife if the wind blows their way.