U.S. calls for calm amid bird flu

WASHINGTON — Amid expectations that migratory birds will spread bird flu to the United States this spring, the Bush administration sought Monday to ease public concerns that the bird disease could trigger a human pandemic.

"We expect it to show up in the U.S. at some point, possibly this year," Interior Secretary Gail Norton told a news conference. But, she continued, this "will not be a reason for panic. It will not signal the beginning of a pandemic."

Norton, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt unveiled a plan to expand domestic screening of migratory birds, especially in Alaska, the crossroads of bird migration flyways and the most likely entry way for wild birds carrying the virus into the U.S. from Asia.

The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the virus has been spreading around the globe in recent months, and tens of millions of birds have died or been slaughtered to eliminate the virus. According to the World Health Organization, the virus also has infected 177 people and killed 98. Nearly all of these cases were caused by direct contact with infected birds, the WHO said.

There have been only a few cases of human-to-human infection with the virus. However, scientists fear that the virus might mutate into a form that would spread easily among humans, setting the stage for a global outbreak, or pandemic.

There have been no reported cases of H5N1 in birds or humans in the United States.

As part of its plan to increase domestic surveillance of wild birds, Johanns said the USDA plans to collect between 75,000 and 100,000 samples from live and dead wild birds and some 50,000 samples of water or feces from high-risk waterfowl habitats across the United States.

Even if the deadly form of H5N1 high-pathogenic avian flu were found in wild birds in the United States, it does not necessarily mean the domestic poultry industry would be affected or that poultry would become unsafe, Johanns said.

"It is highly unlikely that an infected bird would enter the food supply, but even if it did, proper cooking kills the (avian influenza) virus," Johanns said. 'There is no reason to be concerned about eating chicken or turkey if you properly prepare it."

If domestic poultry became infected, Johanns said, quarantines would be established around the affected area and infected flocks would be humanely destroyed and the area disinfected. Quarantines would only be lifted when tests confirm that the virus has been eradicated.