June 15, 2009
YK Delta Bird Flu testing project wraps up for this season
The US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) Office of Environmental Health and Engineering (OEHE) have completed the sampling portion of the 2009 spring subsistence surveillance for the Highly Pathogenic H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza in migratory birds arriving on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
As of June 1, 2009, YKHC has collected 3,126 samples from the ten participating villages, exceeding our goal. All samples have been shipped to USFWS in Anchorage, and from there will be sent to the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, Wisconsin, to be processed.
To this date, there have been no cases of the Highly Pathogenic H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza virus detected anywhere in Alaska or the United States. In addition, there have been no cases of a person contracting the H5N1 virus from wild birds. YKHC will be providing regular updates to the people of the YK Delta about the surveillance efforts, including prompt notification of any positive identification of the H5N1 virus.
For more information concerning the surveillance effort, contact Kelsey Hustedt, YKHC Avian Influenza Coordinator, toll free at 1-800-478-6599, or direct at 543-6421.
