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http://www.examiner.com/a-182446~Virginia_testing_waterfowl_for_bird_flu.html
Virginia testing waterfowl for bird flu
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Christy Goodman, The Examiner
Jul 19, 2006 5:00 AM (6 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 356 of 5,964 articles
Richmond - Maryland and Virginia are beginning to test a wide range of waterfowl for the Asian strain of avian influenza as part of a $29 million, nationwide federal survey.
The survey is looking at whether foreign birds migrating from Asia and Africa have brought the H5N1 virus strain to the U.S. It will try to determine if North American birds can catch the virus, and if they would take it south during migration, said Gail Keirn, with the National Wildlife Research Center within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The H5N1 strain is responsible for the death of more than 100 people and millions of birds worldwide. So far, no one has died of the virus in the United States.
Several types of swans, geese, ducks and other ?birds that have the potential to migrate from Alaska or ... Greenland, northeastern corridor? are being tested since they will be the first to come into contact with migratory birds of Africa and Asia, where the disease has taken hold, said Jonathan Sleeman, a wildlife veterinarian for Virginia?s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The species selected ?ensure that what we are testing are truly those canaries in a coal mine,? said Paul Peditto, director of Wildlife and Heritage Service for Maryland?s Department of Natural Resources.
Virginia and Maryland authorities must test 800 birds each, focusing on areas near the Chesapeake Bay and shorelines, as part of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior funded survey. Federal biologists also will participate to help expand the size of the study. Biologists will take swabs from live birds or from birds turned in by hunters.
The District is not participating in the survey because the work in the surrounding states is seen as sufficient.
The District will, however, test birds found dead, Keirn said. If the virus is found in the region the testing plan will likely change.
Both Peditto and Sleeman said the chances of finding the strain in this area are slim. Outbreaks tend to occur in areas with live animal markets that also have a high concentration of birds, Peditto said.
?Absent those two pieces of the equation, and considering this well thought out, fairly impenetrable net we are casting over these migratory species, we will know almost instantaneously if we get a positive [identification of the virus] and can quickly mitigate against any negative impacts,? Peditto said.
Illegal poultry traders and the keeping of wild animals as pets are two examples of how the H5N1 strain could still come into the country, Sleeman said.
cgoodman@dcexaminer.com
Examiner
Virginia testing waterfowl for bird flu
PDF | Email
Christy Goodman, The Examiner
Jul 19, 2006 5:00 AM (6 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 356 of 5,964 articles
Richmond - Maryland and Virginia are beginning to test a wide range of waterfowl for the Asian strain of avian influenza as part of a $29 million, nationwide federal survey.
The survey is looking at whether foreign birds migrating from Asia and Africa have brought the H5N1 virus strain to the U.S. It will try to determine if North American birds can catch the virus, and if they would take it south during migration, said Gail Keirn, with the National Wildlife Research Center within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The H5N1 strain is responsible for the death of more than 100 people and millions of birds worldwide. So far, no one has died of the virus in the United States.
Several types of swans, geese, ducks and other ?birds that have the potential to migrate from Alaska or ... Greenland, northeastern corridor? are being tested since they will be the first to come into contact with migratory birds of Africa and Asia, where the disease has taken hold, said Jonathan Sleeman, a wildlife veterinarian for Virginia?s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The species selected ?ensure that what we are testing are truly those canaries in a coal mine,? said Paul Peditto, director of Wildlife and Heritage Service for Maryland?s Department of Natural Resources.
Virginia and Maryland authorities must test 800 birds each, focusing on areas near the Chesapeake Bay and shorelines, as part of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior funded survey. Federal biologists also will participate to help expand the size of the study. Biologists will take swabs from live birds or from birds turned in by hunters.
The District is not participating in the survey because the work in the surrounding states is seen as sufficient.
The District will, however, test birds found dead, Keirn said. If the virus is found in the region the testing plan will likely change.
Both Peditto and Sleeman said the chances of finding the strain in this area are slim. Outbreaks tend to occur in areas with live animal markets that also have a high concentration of birds, Peditto said.
?Absent those two pieces of the equation, and considering this well thought out, fairly impenetrable net we are casting over these migratory species, we will know almost instantaneously if we get a positive [identification of the virus] and can quickly mitigate against any negative impacts,? Peditto said.
Illegal poultry traders and the keeping of wild animals as pets are two examples of how the H5N1 strain could still come into the country, Sleeman said.
cgoodman@dcexaminer.com
Examiner