AVIAN INFLUENZA MONITORING EFFORTS IN IDAHO
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
How might highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu; H5/N1) reach the United States? There are a number of ways. They include wild bird migration, illegal smuggling of birds, poultry, or poultry products, travel by infected people, or people traveling with virus-contaminated articles from regions where the virus exists. Interestingly, bird band recoveries demonstrate that some waterfowl that migrate through Idaho occasionally co-mingle with waterfowl from Asia, likely on summering areas in Alaska.
The role of migratory birds in the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza is not well understood. However, in other parts of the world, the virus has often been detected in dead wild birds. In 2006, an annual surveillance plan was developed to detect this virus in wild, migratory birds, such as waterfowl and shorebirds, in North America. The plan for 2008-09 calls for avian influenza testing of 60,000 wild, migratory birds (live, hunter-killed, and morbidity/mortality events) and 25,000 fecal piles from wild, migratory birds throughout all fifty states and select U.S. territories.
Hunters throughout Idaho should not be surprised if they are contacted by a biologist with a request to sample their harvested waterfowl for avian influenza. Biologists from the Idaho Department of Fish & Game, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Wildlife Services, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Shoban nation are participating in a nationwide effort to detect highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild, migratory bird populations.
To increase the coverage of the sampling effort, sampling will be spread across Idaho throughout the 2008-2009 waterfowl season. Approximately 1,200 hunter-harvested waterfowl will be sampled in Idaho. Three hundred fifty resident waterfowl were trapped and tested at the end of the breeding season to obtain samples from locally produced waterfowl. Additionally, up to 600 waterfowl fecal samples have been or will be collected and tested in Idaho.
Migratory birds are sampled by swabbing the oral cavity and cloaca with a cotton-tipped swab. These samples are placed in growth media and shipped to laboratory facilities where they are analyzed for the presence of avian influenza. To date, no birds in North America have tested positive for the highly pathogenic bird flu that has spread across Asia, northern Africa and parts of Europe.
Hunters should avoid contact with any obviously sick birds. Field signs of sick birds could include the inability to fly, swimming in circles, and a lack of coordination.
Hunters should not be concerned about consuming meat from waterfowl harvested in Idaho. Routine precautions recommended for the handling of all wild game will reduce the possibility that hunters and their families will not inadvertently be exposed to any wildlife disease. Recommendations include the following for people handling wild birds:
Do not handle birds that are obviously sick or birds that are found dead.
Wear rubber or disposable latex gloves while handling and cleaning game.
Wash hands with soap and water (or with alcohol-based hand products if the hands are not visibly soiled), and thoroughly clean knives, equipment, and surfaces that come in contact with game.
Do not eat, drink, or smoke while handling or cleaning birds.
Cook all game meat thoroughly (160 to 165 F) prior to consumption to kill disease organisms and parasites.
Hunters who would like additional information on avian influenza can find it at the following web sites:
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/avian_influenza/
http://www.usda.gov/birdflu
http://wildlifedisease.nbii.gov/ai/index.jsp