Rabbits, skunks can pass bird-flu virus to ducks..

A government wildlife researcher has found that rabbits and skunks can become infected with the bird flu virus and shed it enough to infect ducks — offering scientists one more clue about how bird flu may move in the environment and spread between farms, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. Experiments done last year demonstrated that striped skunks and cottontail rabbits in a laboratory transmitted a strain of bird flu to mallard ducks after they shared food and water sources, National Wildlife Research Center biologist Jeff Root said in a statement. "When wildlife and poultry interact and both can carry and spread a potentially damaging agricultural pathogen, it’s cause for concern,” he said. Last year bird flu resulted in the death of 48 million birds in 15 states, sending egg prices soaring to record highs, increasing turkey meat prices and hurting exports of poultry products. Scientists hope to find how the virus gets from wild birds to farms and spreads, and Root said it’s now important to figure out how likely it is that such transmission across species happens in the wild. The study results offer the first significant confirmation that mammals can transmit the virus to birds. Skunks and rabbits are common visitors to farms across the country. They also are frequently found at the riverbanks and wetlands where waterfowl gather. Scientists studying bird flu who weren’t involved in the research said it’s a noteworthy finding, but more study is needed about how transmission is occurring. “These viruses, we’ve always known that they get very eagerly into turkeys. Turkeys and ducks exchange viruses but skunks and rabbits? Who knew? So this is really exciting that way,” said Carol Cardona, an avian health professor at the University of Minnesota who studies domestic poultry viral disease. “It tells us little bit more about an ecosystem we weren’t fully understanding.” Iowa State University veterinary microbiology professor James A. Roth said it’s an unexpected development, but it’s not clear whether these animals can spread bird flu virus into commercial turkey and chicken barns. culled from Columbus Dispatch.