Bird Flu Viruses Can Remain Infectious for Months in US Wetlands

Lab and field experiments indicate that aquatic environments could act as reservoirs for the pathogens, which typically do not represent a direct risk to humans.

Written byCatherine Offord

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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 ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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