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Source: http://www.grandforksherald.com/art...OKEN=17272055&jsessionid=8830d9f788e8534c5e49
Crews sample ducks for avian influenza in N.D., northwestern Minnesota
Herald Staff and Wire Reports, Grand Forks Herald
Published Sunday, August 24, 2008
Researchers again this fall are testing waterfowl for avian influenza in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.
In North Dakota, the Game and Fish Department is collecting 300 samples from live birds during duck-banding efforts this month and September. Game and Fish crews also plan to collect another 500 samples during hunting season bag checks.
Geese aren?t part of the sampling effort because they aren?t known carriers of the virus.
Sampling in northwestern Minnesota is set for Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge and the Thief Lake and Roseau River wildlife management areas. As in North Dakota, most of the sampling will occur in September during annual duck-banding operations, when biologists capture ducks early in the morning with rocket nets over baited sites.
As part of the sampling in northwestern Minnesota, biologists will collect throat and reproductive tract swabs and draw blood from each bird. Samples will be sent to the University of Georgia for testing.
Overseeing the sampling effort in northwestern Minnesota is Jeremy Heise, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Originally from Hudson, Wis., Heise has been employed as a seasonal biological technician at Agassiz since May 2007.
Most of the news about avian influenza has focused on the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the disease. While the strain hasn?t shown up in North America, lower pathogenic forms of avian influenza occur naturally in the continent?s migratory birds, including those that pass through North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.
According to a news release, researchers last year sampled 1,482 mallards at Agassiz, Thief Lake and Roseau River. Results of that sampling showed a 6 percent prevalence rate of the low-strain avian influenza at Agassiz, with a 21 percent rate at Thief Lake and 10 percent at Roseau River.
Other sampling efforts planned for northwestern Minnesota include collecting water and sediment throughout the year at Agassiz to look for the virus, and late-summer ?nightlighting? efforts, in which crews capture and sample ducks after dark by netting the birds out of airboats.
As in North Dakota, crews also will collect samples while conducting bag checks during hunting season.
Meanwhile, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department said in a news release that biologists plan to keep tabs on any unusual bird die-offs or illnesses through October. Mike Johnson, migratory game bird management supervisor for Game and Fish, said tests to date continue to show no signs of the dangerous H5N1 bird flu strain that affected people in southeast Asia and caused fears of a pandemic.
Avian influenza testing efforts began nationwide in 2006, and all samples for the highly pathogenic H5N1 subtype have tested negative. By learning more about low-strain avian influenza, researchers say they hope to be better able to respond if the H5N1 strain of the disease ever shows up in North America.
Crews sample ducks for avian influenza in N.D., northwestern Minnesota
Herald Staff and Wire Reports, Grand Forks Herald
Published Sunday, August 24, 2008
Researchers again this fall are testing waterfowl for avian influenza in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.
In North Dakota, the Game and Fish Department is collecting 300 samples from live birds during duck-banding efforts this month and September. Game and Fish crews also plan to collect another 500 samples during hunting season bag checks.
Geese aren?t part of the sampling effort because they aren?t known carriers of the virus.
Sampling in northwestern Minnesota is set for Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge and the Thief Lake and Roseau River wildlife management areas. As in North Dakota, most of the sampling will occur in September during annual duck-banding operations, when biologists capture ducks early in the morning with rocket nets over baited sites.
As part of the sampling in northwestern Minnesota, biologists will collect throat and reproductive tract swabs and draw blood from each bird. Samples will be sent to the University of Georgia for testing.
Overseeing the sampling effort in northwestern Minnesota is Jeremy Heise, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Originally from Hudson, Wis., Heise has been employed as a seasonal biological technician at Agassiz since May 2007.
Most of the news about avian influenza has focused on the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the disease. While the strain hasn?t shown up in North America, lower pathogenic forms of avian influenza occur naturally in the continent?s migratory birds, including those that pass through North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.
According to a news release, researchers last year sampled 1,482 mallards at Agassiz, Thief Lake and Roseau River. Results of that sampling showed a 6 percent prevalence rate of the low-strain avian influenza at Agassiz, with a 21 percent rate at Thief Lake and 10 percent at Roseau River.
Other sampling efforts planned for northwestern Minnesota include collecting water and sediment throughout the year at Agassiz to look for the virus, and late-summer ?nightlighting? efforts, in which crews capture and sample ducks after dark by netting the birds out of airboats.
As in North Dakota, crews also will collect samples while conducting bag checks during hunting season.
Meanwhile, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department said in a news release that biologists plan to keep tabs on any unusual bird die-offs or illnesses through October. Mike Johnson, migratory game bird management supervisor for Game and Fish, said tests to date continue to show no signs of the dangerous H5N1 bird flu strain that affected people in southeast Asia and caused fears of a pandemic.
Avian influenza testing efforts began nationwide in 2006, and all samples for the highly pathogenic H5N1 subtype have tested negative. By learning more about low-strain avian influenza, researchers say they hope to be better able to respond if the H5N1 strain of the disease ever shows up in North America.