August 22, 2005

USDA identifies deadly bird flu strain in Mongolia's migratory birds

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), a sample from migratory birds in Mongolia had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. It was reportedly the first time H5N1 had been detected in Mongolia's migratory birds having no known contact with domestic poultry or waterfowl.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) had visited Mongolia for a health survey of wild birds, following reports of a bird flu outbreak in Mongolia's Kovsgol region. Collected samples including the ruddy shelduck, herring gull, black-headed gull, bar-headed goose, whooper swan and Eurasian wigeon, were sent to the USDA for testing.

WCS experts said farms, especially small and open air ones, should have better management practices, to prevent domestic poultry and waterfowl from intermingling with wild birds. This would help contain a potential epidemic in Mongolia.