What is the risk of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu arriving in New York State?
The risk of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu arriving in New York is reduced by federal laws restricting bird imports and by NYSDAM surveillance and control procedures. It is illegal to import poultry or poultry products from countries that are affected by this disease. Smuggling birds or bird products into the country does pose some threat and infected travelers from affected countries might accidentally introduce the virus into the United States. There may also be some risk from migrating wild birds.
