Avian Influenza Introduction Avian Influenza Home WDFW Avian Influenza Fact Sheet Avian Influenza Monitoring & Resarch Questions & Answers Avian Influenza Facts [PDF Format - 39 KB] Dead Bird Reports 1-800-606-8768 Related Links U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Department of Agriculture Washington Department of Agriculture Washington Department of Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention News - Call toll-free line to report dead wild birds October 2007 - WDFW to test wild birds under avian influenza surveillance plan June 2006

American Wigeon Introduction Avian Influenza (bird flu) is a viral illness commonly found in birds. Wild birds can carry a number of avian influenza viruses, and most strains of avian influenza do not seriously affect them. However, recently one particularly virulent form of avian flu caused by a strain of virus known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) has sickened and killed birds in Asian, Africa, and Europe. After close contact with infected domestic birds, more than 250 people elsewhere in the world have died from HPAI H5N1 virus. The HPAI H5N1 virus is not easily transmissible from birds to people, but health officials are concerned it could develop into another form that spreads readily from person to person, triggering a global health crisis known as a pandemic. Although avian flu has made headlines, it is important to note that: As of January 2009, the highly pathogenic Asian form of HPAI H5N1 virus has not been found in North American wild or domestic birds. There is no evidence that properly cooked waterfowl (or domestic poultry) can sicken people. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is collaborating on a wild bird disease surveillance and response plan with the Washington Department of Agriculture, Washington Department of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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