Alaska is at the overlap for parts of the Asian and North American flyways for migratory birds which scientists say could provide an opportunity for exchange of bird flu viruses which then could lead to the evolution of new strains of viruses that could infect humans.
Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks formed the Avian Influenza Program to study the evolution and assess the prevalence of the many different avian influenza viruses in Alaska, including the highly disease-causing (pathogenic), H5N1 Asian subtype, in migratory birds. Researchers from UAF and collaborators from state, federal and private wildlife and public health agencies obtained cloacal samples from birds in the Minto Flats, Yukon Flats and Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuges, Copper River Delta and other areas in the state this year.
Of the roughly 4,500 samples collected, 290 have been screened to determine the presence of any of the known subtypes of avian influenza virus. Thirty of the 290 samples tested positive for various bird flu viruses, but none of the viral isolation and subtyping to date has detected H5N1. The sample results will provide early detection for 2005 and baseline data for 2006 and subsequent years, which UAF researchers and others can use for compare to future samples and from which they hope to build predictive models of how the viruses mutate and move in the environment.
"With a virus like H5N1 emerging in an area like Southeast Asia and spreading toward Europe if it doesn't reach Alaska this year, those birds
'"/>
Contact: Marie Gilbert
marie.gilbert@uaf.edu
907-474-7412
University of Alaska Fairbanks
28-Oct-2005