OLYMPIA — State and federal officials may ask waterfowl hunters in Clark and four other Washington counties for samples from birds they have harvested to test for a type of avian influenza.
Thousands of chickens and domestic turkeys in British Columbia have died from the virus and it has been detected in wild birds in Washington.
An infected domestic guinea fowl and chickens also have been confirmed in Oregon.
“The sampling procedure takes less than a minute per bird, and will help us determine the prevalence of the disease in wild birds,” said Don Kraege, state waterfowl section manager. “Waterfowl are carriers of the disease, but often don’t show symptoms. The primary risk is to domestic chickens and turkeys.”
Although the virus poses no apparent threat to human health, high pathogenic strains of avian influenza can be deadly to domestic poultry.
Kraege said the state Department of Fish and Wildlife tested more than 10,000 wild birds for bird flu viruses from 2005 to 2011, and found bird flu viruses in about 10 percent of all birds tested. None, however, were associated with any illnesses or mortality.
Hunter-shot birds also will be sampled in Thurston, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties.
Canadian inspectors first confirmed the highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of avian influenza at two British Columbia poultry farms during the first week of December.
Aware of that finding, WDFW had two birds — a gyrfalcon and northern pintail duck — found dead in Whatcom County tested for bird flu the following week.
The gyrfalcon, used for hunting and fed wild duck by its owner, was found to have a highly pathogenic H5N8 form of the virus.
Another duck found dead at Wiser Lake was infected with H5N2, similar to the strain found in poultry in British Columbia.
On Dec. 18, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of the H5N8 virus in guinea fowl and chickens in a backyard poultry flock in Winston, Ore.
State wildlife managers ask that anyone who sees a wild bird that is sick or dead call the department at 1-800-606-8768. They are interested particularly in waterfowl and birds such as eagles, hawks, falcons, ravens and gulls that prey on waterfowl or scavenge their carcasses.
