Birds migrating, scientists testing.

Researchers testing for deadly bird flu at Salton Sea
No detection of deadly H5N1 virus anywhere in North America yet


Keith Matheny
The Desert Sun
December 4, 2006
The Salton Sea is one of the fronts in the biggest multi-agency bird investigation in U.S. history, seeking to determine if a deadly strain of avian flu has entered North America through migratory birds.

Federal and state officials have tested 137 waterfowl birds shot by hunters this fall at the Wister Unit of the Salton Sea's Imperial Wildlife Area, said Pam Swift, a veterinarian in the California Department of Fish and Game’s wildlife investigations laboratory. Officials plan to test 100 more birds throughout December and January, she said.

Some 60 samples of bird feces were also taken for analysis, and officials plan to collect an additional 90 samples between now and the end of January, Swift said.

Of concern is that the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu could make its way to America via the Pacific Flyway, a migratory route used by hundreds of species of birds, including many of the approximately 400 species that use the Salton Sea as a wintering site or a stopover.

Some birds that migrate along the Pacific Flyway, such as northern pintails, nest over the summer in areas in and around Alaska, where they could potentially commingle with birds that migrate along an Asian flyway between countries where the virus is spreading.

The World Health Organization has confirmed 258 cases of human infection with the H5N1 virus, leading to 154 deaths. Most of the cases are linked to direct handling of infected poultry. There has been no sustained human-to-human transmission of the disease, but the concern is that H5N1 will evolve into a virus capable of human-to-human transmission, which could spark a pandemic like the 1918-1919 influenza outbreak that caused 50 million deaths worldwide.

Of the 80,000 birds tested throughout North America, not a single one has been found infected with the deadly strain of H5N1.

“I’m heartened that we so far haven’t had a detection,” said Brad Bortner, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s chief of migratory birds for the Pacific region.

“(But) I think it’s too early to draw conclusions on whether (the virus) will get here or not. There’s still migration occurring.”