For the first time, scientists have tracked the movement of a wild bird known to be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza in North America. The research, led by the U.S. Geological Survey, can help improve estimates of when and where the virus could spread in the environment and to other birds. There is a current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in numerous wild and commercial bird species across North America. Highly pathogenic avian influenza is different than low pathogenic in that it can be fatal to poultry.
Study tracks sick wild bird
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A male lesser scaup swims in 2017 at the U.S. Geological Survey's Eastern Ecological Science Center in Maryland. This bird was not part of the new research.
A USGS map shows the movement of a lesser scaup infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (red line) compared to four lesser scaup not i…