Low risk virus found in birds in Illinois
October 18th, 2006
Traces of the low pathogenic H6N2 avian flu virus have been found on ducks in central Illinois, as a second batch of tests confirmed. The US government announced on Tuesday that the virus was found in 5 of the 11 birds that were sampled for bird flu. This is a common form of the virus that is frequently found in wild birds. The result is usually minor sickness or no noticeable disease for birds. Other states that have reported such occurrences this year include Michigan, Montana, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The results come as part of a massive campaign of testing wild birds in an attempt to detect any bird flu outbreak on US soil early on.