Bivalves seen to remove bird flu virus from water and reduce infection

A British study shows that avian influenza (AI) viruses are believed to be transmitted within aquatic bird populations through contaminated water and this study determined that filter-feeding clams can remove AI virus from water and reduce infectivity.

According to Royal Society Publishing, wood ducks were inoculated with a variety of treatments, and none of the ducks inoculated with virus-infected water that was filtered by clams or that were inoculated with or fed tissue from these clams exhibited signs of infection.

These results indicate that filter-feeding bivalves can remove AI viruses from water, and demonstrate the need to examine the little-understood biotic environmental factors that can influence AI virus transmission.