Lab in city tests for bird flu

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    http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=136718&ntpid=3   

  SUN., MAY 27, 2007 - 1:34 AM 

Lab in city tests for bird flu 

An unusual delivery expected in Madison this week will mark the second year of a high-stakes effort to protect the country from deadly bird flu.

Shipping boxes will carry waste samples, frozen in tiny vials, from birds in Alaska to the National Wildlife Health Center off Schroeder Road. Scientists will test the samples to see if the H5N1 bird flu virus, which continues to devastate flocks in Asia and Europe and kill some people, has arrived in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the state will again test for bird flu this summer, with an increased focus on dead birds. 

None of the 28,000 samples from ducks, geese and other wild birds tested at the National Wildlife Health Center last year -- or the 102,000 samples tested at other U.S. labs -- showed evidence of the troublesome H5N1 virus, though other strains of bird flu were found.

But the threat of H5N1 remains. Scientists fear the virus could trigger a global flu epidemic in humans. It could also harm the U.S. poultry industry if found here.

"We have shown as best we can that H5N1 was not in North America in 2006," said Hon Ip, who oversees the diagnostic virology lab at the National Wildlife Health Center. "But as long as the situation is unresolved in other parts of the world, surveillance needs to continue."

H5N1 is still plaguing birds -- mostly domestic poultry -- in China, Indonesia, Vietnam and other countries. The virus has killed 185 of the 306 people known to be infected since late 2003.

The 400 or so samples to arrive this week at the National Wildlife Health Center are from birds killed this spring by hunters in Alaska.

Other samples will come this summer and fall from live birds trapped by biologists, mostly in West Coast states but also in other parts of the country, Ip said. Nearly 28,000 samples will be tested again this year.

The testing of last year's samples revealed two new findings, Ip said.

Some bird species, such as the Glaucous gull, were found for the first time to carry some kind of bird flu. And samples from several birds showed that viruses from Asia and North America mixed in the same bird -- the kind of genetic exchange that could create a pandemic strain.

"We are indeed collecting the right birds at the right time," Ip said.

The state Department of Natural Resources will test about 1,500 birds this year, said Julie Langenberg, a veterinary wildlife health specialist.

Many samples will come from ducks and geese killed by hunters, as was the case last year, Langenberg said. Some samples will again be taken from live shorebirds. But the state hopes to test more dead birds this year because studies suggest they are most likely to carry bird flu, she said.

Anyone who sees unusual clusters of bird deaths is asked to call the state's Dead Bird Hotline at (800) 433-1610.

"We want everybody to do what they can to help us identify dead birds," Langenberg said.

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	http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=136718&ntpid=3 SUN., MAY 27, 2007 - 1:34 AM Lab in city tests for bird flu An unusual delivery expected in Madison this week will mark the second year of a high-stakes effort to protect the country from deadly bird flu. Shipping boxes will carry waste samples, frozen in tiny vials, from birds in Alaska to the National Wildlife Health Center off Schroeder Road. Scientists will test the samples to see if the H5N1 bird flu virus, which continues to devastate flocks in Asia and Europe and kill some people, has arrived in the U.S. Meanwhile, the state will again test for bird flu this summer, with an increased focus on dead birds. None of the 28,000 samples from ducks, geese and other wild birds tested at the National Wildlife Health Center last year -- or the 102,000 samples tested at other U.S. labs -- showed evidence of the troublesome H5N1 virus, though other strains of bird flu were found. But the threat of H5N1 remains. Scientists fear the virus could trigger a global flu epidemic in humans. It could also harm the U.S. poultry industry if found here. "We have shown as best we can that H5N1 was not in North America in 2006," said Hon Ip, who oversees the diagnostic virology lab at the National Wildlife Health Center. "But as long as the situation is unresolved in other parts of the world, surveillance needs to continue." H5N1 is still plaguing birds -- mostly domestic poultry -- in China, Indonesia, Vietnam and other countries. The virus has killed 185 of the 306 people known to be infected since late 2003. The 400 or so samples to arrive this week at the National Wildlife Health Center are from birds killed this spring by hunters in Alaska. Other samples will come this summer and fall from live birds trapped by biologists, mostly in West Coast states but also in other parts of the country, Ip said. Nearly 28,000 samples will be tested again this year. The testing of last year's samples revealed two new findings, Ip said. Some bird species, such as the Glaucous gull, were found for the first time to carry some kind of bird flu. And samples from several birds showed that viruses from Asia and North America mixed in the same bird -- the kind of genetic exchange that could create a pandemic strain. "We are indeed collecting the right birds at the right time," Ip said. The state Department of Natural Resources will test about 1,500 birds this year, said Julie Langenberg, a veterinary wildlife health specialist. Many samples will come from ducks and geese killed by hunters, as was the case last year, Langenberg said. Some samples will again be taken from live shorebirds. But the state hopes to test more dead birds this year because studies suggest they are most likely to carry bird flu, she said. Anyone who sees unusual clusters of bird deaths is asked to call the state's Dead Bird Hotline at (800) 433-1610. "We want everybody to do what they can to help us identify dead birds," Langenberg said.