Bird Flu Center

The Department of Agriculture of the United States has announced the positive testing of 5 wild migratory birds in the state of Illinois for a strain of H5N1 bird flu virus. The birds in question are Green-winged Teals and the strain they host is believed to be a low pathogenic subtype of the feared virus. It is also claimed that this is not related to the avian influenza disease that has claimed the lives of over 150 people worldwide. The samples were collected form birds that appeared healthy and, as an announcement by the USDA on their official website reads, the virus found poses no threat to human health. The wildfowl was found in the Rice Lake Conservation Area of Fulton County, Illinois, and although 11 samples were initially collected, only 5 turned out to have traces of bird flu virus. As duck populations, including Green-winged Teal, are commonly hunted, the USDA states that there is no known health risk to hunters or hunting dogs from contact with such a low pathogenic form of avian influenza.