Wild birds around the world carry bird flu viruses, including H5N1, but usually do not get   sick from them. Wildlife experts and public health officials have been monitoring the spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 since it first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997.

Since 1998, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has tested over 12,000 migratory birds in the Alaska flyway, and since 2000, has tested nearly 4,000 migratory birds in the Atlantic flyway.

All birds tested in the United States have been negative for highly pathogenic H5N1.

Since 2005, the Department of the Interior has been working with the state of Alaska to sample migratory birds in the Pacific flyway.  These agencies have recently developed a plan to help rapidly detect the pathogen through:

• Investigating outbreaks of disease in wild birds
• Expanding ongoing monitoring of live wild birds
• Monitoring hunter-killed birds
• Beginning to monitor sentinel animals such as backyard poultry flocks
• Sampling bodies of water that could be contaminated with bird feces.

In 2006, these agencies collected thousand of samples from live and dead wild birds.  They also collected thousands of samples of water or feces from high-risk waterfowl habitats across the United States.

Back to Pandemic Flu Home