Mild bird flu in Maryland ducks
September 4th, 2006
US authorities have announced the confirmation of a low pathogenic form of bird flu resident in wild mallard ducks living in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. Apparently that form of the virus poses no risk to humans, as the US Agriculture and Interior departments have given reassurences on Friday. Testing have ruled out the possibility of the virus being the highly dangerous H5N1 strain of avian influenza, the one which is ravishing poultry populations in Asia and also causing high human death rates. Definitive testing will be done on the bird samples. This follows a similar case in the United States, as a couple of weeks ago a similar virus was found in two wild swans in the state of Michigan. Experts say highly pathogenic avian flu is unlikely to be found in the United States yet.