ABOVE: Technician Lindsay Carlson swabs a hunter-harvested duck in western Alaska.
ANDREW REEVES, USGS
Avian influenza viruses can remain infectious in the surface water of northern US wetlands for at least seven months, according to a study published yesterday (September 9) in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Using a combination of lab and field experiments, researchers at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) showed that viruses shed by wild ducks were still viable after more than 209 days in situ, suggesting that these areas could act as environmental reservoirs for the pathogens while birds overwinter in areas further south.
“It’s saying to the scientific community we need to get serious about the role the environment plays in the transmission of avian influenza,” says Chelsea Himsworth, a veterinary pathologist at the University of British Columbia and the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative who was not involved in the work. “The environment tends ...
