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With fall at hand, many hunters are heading out to harvest waterfowl and upland game birds. However, the news has been filled for more than a year about a bird flu in Asia and how that flu has been transmitted to humans with fatal results. Is it safe to venture out to harvest waterfowl, grouse, and quail this fall? What about all the extensive testing that the Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture said was to happen in Alaska during the summer. What happened and what was found?
Let’s find the answers to these questions.
First, just what is bird flu? What is avian influenza? And what is this H5N1 we keep hearing about? If you stop and think about it, what happens in America every winter? People catch the flu, sometimes known as influenza. Influenza is the more proper (or technical) name for the flu in the medical world. Thus there is no difference between “bird flu” and “avian influenza” – they are two names for the same thing. And we all should be familiar with the fact that influenza is caused by a virus. H5N1 is the specific type of influenza virus in this case that has been making the headlines (the H and the N referring to specific structural features of the virus). There are 144 different subtypes of this influenza virus. To complicate things even more, there are variations of the subtypes as well.
There are 3 basic types of influenza. Type A is known from wild and domestic birds, human, pigs, horses, and marine mammals. Types B and C are known from humans and is much less severe than Type A. Avian influenza is a bird disease that has been known to wildlife and domestic animal pathologists for a very long time – it is not a new disease. In fact, virtually all 144 subtypes have been found in ducks, gulls, and shorebirds over the years. The avian influenza virus infects both the respiratory and intestinal tracts. The virus is transmitted via oral contact with infected feces, saliva, or nasal discharge (i.e., sneezing). It is important to note that H5N1 is not the same virus as the human flu virus.
The two subtypes of the H5N1 virus known so far are the Asian type and the North American type. The Asian type is officially known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A H5N1 – which means that this is a type A influenza virus that is highly pathogenic (meaning that it is very easy for the virus to establish itself and replicate within a host organism). The current Asian type mutated in poultry in China recently, then subsequently infected wild birds. However, reports indicate that the majority of infected wild birds do not die from the infection. This subtype spreads rapidly among birds and is particularly fatal in chickens and turkeys. The Department of Agriculture is involved in monitoring for the occurrence of avian influenza because of the potential impact to the poultry industry in America.
The North American subtype of the virus has been found in waterfowl since 1975. This subtype is known as low pathogenic avian influenza. This virus commonly occurs in wild birds in North America, mostly waterfowl, grouse, and quail. It typically causes minor or no noticeable symptoms in infected birds, as it is typically a low-grade infection.
Monitoring for Avian Influenza
In August 2005, the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, along with the Centers for Disease Control entered into an agreement to monitor wild and domestic bird populations for avian influenza. Avian biologists worked with wildlife veterinarians and medical personnel to develop the monitoring plans. The biologists reviewed the available information on birds known to winter in the Far East where the highly pathogenic subtype of avian influenza was known to exist. Based on known migratory pathways, 31 species that breed in eastern Russian and Alaska were identified as the first places that efforts should be focused. If the highly pathogenic form of avian influenza was to come into North America by way of wild birds, these were the logical first places to look.
I was contacted by one of the Alaskan members of the avian influenza task group in February 2006. Innoko National Wildlife Refuge, where I work, is known for large numbers of breeding pintail ducks – one of the focus species for early avian influenza detection. Given the logistics required to operate in remote parts of Alaska, could we capture, sample, and release unharmed 200 or more adult pintails? And, by the way, all the samples need to be stored in liquid nitrogen until they reach the lab in Madison, Wisconsin. Thus began preparations for one of the largest live bird disease sampling efforts conducted in North America. The US Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the USGS Biological Resources Division set out to find out if the Asian subtype of avian influenza was coming to North America.
Just how big of an operation was it? Despite the logistical problems, crews were able to sample more than 10,950 live wild birds and another 5,100 hunter killed birds in Alaska; over 1,100 live wild birds were sampled in the eastern Russian territory of Primorye of this summer. During the summer and fall, another 13,765 live birds and 4,323 hunter killed birds from the other 49 states were sampled. While 11 birds tested positive for the North American subtype (the low pathogenic type), not one sample tested positive for the Asian subtype of avian influenza.
Because of the logistical constraints in working in remote parts of Alaska and the Russian Far East, sampling also occurred throughout the rest of the United States in summer and fall. This sampling effort evaluated another 13,765 live birds, 4,323 hunter killed birds, and 811 dead birds that were picked-up and submitted for testing. While no Asian subtype of the virus has been detected, the North American subtype has been found from: a mute swan in Michigan; a green-wing teal in Illinois and another in Michigan; a pintail in Montana and another in Ohio; and a mallard in Maryland and another in Pennsylvania. As of this writing, another 7 samples (all mallards from the Central and Atlantic Flyways) are still being tested to determine if the virus isolated is the Asian subtype or the North American subtype.
To learn more about what is being found where, and how many birds have been sampled from your state, visit the Avian Influenza data site.
Is it Safe?
Despite sampling over 35,000 birds, the Asian type of avian influenza could be in North America. So, is it safe to bird hunt this fall? You bet it is! However, you would be wise to take a few precautions to ensure your safety and that of your family.
For the birds you harvest, dress them all at one time if possible. Wear rubber or latex gloves to dress your birds, and refrain from eating, drinking, or smoking while dressing your birds. When you are done, dispose of the gloves into the trash and clean your hands, knives, and work surfaces with hot soapy water. Then clean with a 10% bleach solution and a final rinse. When cooking, be sure that the meat is cooked to a temperature of 160-165 degrees. The cooking temperature will kill any virus that may be in the meat; the hot soapy water and bleach solution will kill any virus that may have gotten onto your knives or work surfaces. If you use one of the hand sanitizers available, be sure to use one with an alcohol content of 60% or more.
By the way, remember that this is a bird disease. There has been no known transmission to dogs, so don’t leave your four legged companion home.
I’ve been asked if it is safe to keep a bird feeder up. I’ve never taken mine down. Before refilling the feeder, however, take the feeder inside and wash the outside thoroughly in hot soapy water to help prevent the spread of any disease.
Now that you know the facts, go out and enjoy God’s Great Outdoors this fall. If you are fortunate, your table will be graced with some fine dining as well.
Do you have a question from a previous article? Or a question about something else? How about a topic you would like me to address in a future article? If so, just e-mail me here at God's Great Outdoors E-zine. Have a good story or photo of your own? Why not contact the Editor, Tracy Breen - you never know, it may appear in the next issue of the E-zine.
| Steve Kovach is our own resident wildlife biologist. He has been working as a professional biologist for over 25 years throughout the west, working mostly with mammals. He has held some positions that were largely management-oriented and others that were research oriented. Steve is also an avid outdoor photographer and an NRA firearms instructor and Training Counselor. Currently he lives with his wife and daughter in McGrath, Alaska, working on the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge conducting research on black bears. Steve and his family enjoy God's great outdoors by hunting, fishing, trapping, and camping together. Steve assists Tracy Breen with each magazine issue by serving as the Managing Editor - a fancy title for the guy that does the layout work, edits and creates the graphics, and gets the articles into web ready format. By the way, the bear in the picture is one of Steve's research partners and she is very much alive. |
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