Ducks pond residents to be part of routine avian flu test

By AMANDA RICKER Chronicle Staff Writer

Please don’t feed the ducks.

That’s the request from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks as it gears up to test the waterfowl in and around the popular duck pond at Montana State University for avian flu.

The tests, part of a national effort, begin this month and run through December.

Wildlife officials lure the ducks into land traps with food, sample saliva and waste and then release them back into the wild, unharmed, said Rose Jaffe, FWP’s Bozeman avian influenza coordinator.

“It helps us enormously if people don’t feed them,” Jaffe said. “If people feed them, their bellies are full and they’re not hungry.”

The testing is part of an ongoing effort to monitor the nation’s waterfowl.

Ducks at MSU’s duck pond have been tested for avian flu for the past two years, Jaffe said.

“From our understanding, it’s quite routine,” said Tracy Ellig, MSU News Service director.

Avian flu occurs naturally among wild birds, but they usually don’t get sick from the virus, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control. However, avian flu is very contagious among birds and can kill domesticated birds, like chickens, ducks and turkeys.

More than 140 different avian influenza viruses are commonly found in wild bird populations, Jaffe said, but the highly pathogenic H5N1 Asian strain has not been detected in any wild bird in North America.

And there’s little reason to be concerned about human infection, since the virus does not move easily between birds and other species. Last year, worldwide, there was one suspected case of human infection from wild birds.

Across Montana, FWP and the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service intend to collect 1,600 samples during this round of testing, targeting areas where waterfowl concentrate.

Waterfowl in urban ponds in four other cities across the state n Billings, Helena, Great Falls and Missoula n are also being tested this year.

Once a duck is caught, researchers swab its cloaca, the vent where waste is expelled, and the back of its throat, behind its tongue, Jaffe said.

Meanwhile, MSU has been reconstructing the pond on South 11th Avenue, but the ducks are still hanging around. That work is expected to be complete by the beginning of October, although the area will likely remain fenced off through early May to allow grass seed to grow.

Amanda Ricker can be reached at aricker@dailychronicle.com or 582-2628.

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