USDA detects bird flu in a wild Mallard duck in Montana
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has detected the presence of Eurasian/North American reassortant H5N2 avian influenza in a wild mallard duck in Fergus County, Mont.
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has detected the presence of Eurasian/North American reassortant H5N2 avian influenza in a wild mallard duck in Fergus County, Mont. No illness or mortalities in domestic poultry in the United States have been detected.
The sample, taken from a hunter-harvested bird through routine surveillance, was tested at the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and forwarded to USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. Characterization of the sample is ongoing.
“This appears to be one of the strains we saw during the outbreak in 2014 and 2015,” said Jack Shere, USDA chief veterinarian. “This finding serves as a powerful reminder that there is still avian influenza circulating in wild birds, and producers and industry need to continue to be vigilant about biosecurity to protect domestic poultry.”
Wild migratory waterfowl are a natural reservoir for avian influenza, and these viruses can travel in wild birds without them appearing sick. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the risk to the general public from these H5 HPAI infections to be low. No human infections have occurred in the United States.
The USDA recently launched Defend the Flock, a new educational campaign that provides commercial poultry owners and growers, as well as the poultry industry and federal/state/local animal health officials, resources to help ensure that the best biosecurity practices are used to protect commercial flocks from infectious disease.