How Do You Test Dead Birds For Avian Influenza?
Even though people equate avian flu with “bird flu” or H5N1, there are more than 140 types of avian influenza circulating in the world. Some avian flu circulates in wild and domestic birds without causing overt symptoms. Other types of avian influenza kill thousands of birds at a time. Testing must be done by veterinary professionals, so report sick or dead birds immediately. Understand that in addition to there being more than 140 types of avian influenza, there can be two types of each: low pathogenicity (“low path”) and high pathogenicity (“high path”). Low path avian flu can circulate in wild and domestic birds without causing overt symptoms. High path avian flu is generally fatal to birds. Track the threat to humans. Several avian influenza viruses have jumped the normal species barrier to cause illnesses in humans and other mammals. Among the viruses of concern are H5N1, H3N2 and H7N3. Any one of these three could start a pandemic if they mutate until they spread among humans. Kn
