They're Pests, but at Least Pigeons Won't Give You the Bird Flu
WIStv.com & Associated Press
23 April 2006

Washington-AP) April 23, 2006 - Urbanites worried about the possible spread of bird flu can relax a bit.

Pigeons are apparently very unlikely to carry or even get infected by the deadly strain.

Wildlife disease specialists have been conducting tests on the city pests, and found the birds just aren't susceptible to the virus. They're not totally immune, but research shows pigeons catch the H5N1 virus only when exposed to very high doses and even then carry the disease very briefly.

Pigeons didn't even get infected after high levels of virus were squirted directly into their mouths. "So that's good news," according to one researcher.

Instead, US government scientists looking for the first signs of the deadly strain are focusing on wild migratory birds, not birds like pigeons, starlings and sparrows that stay close to home.

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Avian Influenza not New to Texas: ‘It’s the Strain that Matters’
South Central Texas News
27 April 2006
Monette Taylor
Photo courtesy of South Central Texas News

April 27, 2006 - Two years ago, two counties in Texas … Gonzales and Hopkins … were the sites for a strain of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu. The difference between the state’s previous cases, and the current deadly cases that are spreading in the world, is the strain of the bacteria.

In February 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that testing in Gonzales County had showed the presence of the H5 H7 strain of avian influenza (AI).

During that time over 9,000 broilers in Gonzales County were destroyed, and testing was done on poultry in a 10-mile radius of the farm where the virus was found. The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) and the Texas office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent several regulatory veterinarians and a number of animal health inspectors to the area to conduct on-site inspections.

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