What North Carolina
Hunters Should
Know About Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Know About Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
- Bird flu, or Avian Influenza (AI), is an infectious viral disease found in domestic poultry and in wild birds. Aquatic birds, particularly waterfowl and shorebirds, are considered natural reservoirs of the virus. Low pathogenic forms of the AI virus are common in wild bird populations.
- The AI virus is found in a small proportion of birds, and infection typically causes few, if any, symptoms. The virus is present in feces, saliva and nasal discharges.
- A particularly virulent strain of the AI virus has emerged in poultry and wild birds in Europe and Asia. This highly pathogenic form of the disease, HPAI H5N1, has caused mortality in domestic poultry and wild species of ducks, geese, swans, egrets, herons and gulls.
- Highly pathogenic H5N1 has not been found in North America.
- It is not yet clear what role wild birds might play in the movement and distribution of the H5N1 virus. However, the spread of the virus into new regions of Europe and Asia raise concerns that the H5N1 virus could be carried to North America by migrating birds.