Wild fowl being tracked

Vet's Work in Cambodia May Hold Clues to Spread of Avian FluA globetrotting veterinarian now stalking bird flu across East Asia, Gilbert was eager to get hold of the bustard, called a Bengal Florican, so he could strap on a satellite transmitter to track its migration and take a fecal swab to test for the virus.


Although avian flu has been prevalent in Asia for at least three years and hopscotched to Europe and Africa, there is no consensus among health experts about the role migratory fowl play in spreading the disease and remarkably little knowledge about which species could do so.
These questions have acquired new urgency in recent weeks after wild birds introduced the virulent H5N1 strain into Western Europe. Gilbert's hunt in the wilderness of northwestern Cambodia could provide crucial clues about the role wild birds play in spreading the disease, even helping answer whether bird flu will ultimately arrive on American shores and how it might get there.