Are Hunting Dogs at Risk of Getting Bird Flu?
The highly pathogenic Asian avian influenza, referred in the media as bird flu, is not easily transmitted to animals other than birds. Wild ducks in Maryland have been found to have a low incidence of low pathogenic forms of avian influenza, so a normal-looking, normal-acting duck is not likely to carry the virus. In a recent study in Thailand, researchers tested more than 600 stray dogs, many of which presumably had access to sick or dead poultry in areas where the bird flu is known to occur. Antibodies for the bird flu were fond in about 25 percent of those dogs, meaning that they had been exposed to the disease but their immune system prevented them from becoming ill or dying. Bird Flu is most frequently passed to dogs from chewing on carcasses of dead wild birds or catching infected live wild birds or poultry. It is possible the disease might also be transmitted dog to dog. Currently, cats have been the greatest cause of concern. Both cats and dogs can be infected, but they appear
