Biologist: Rabbits and skunks can pass bird flu to ducks

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — 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.

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.

[...] this is really exciting that way, said Carol Cardona, an avian health professor at the University of Minnesota who studies domestic poultry viral disease.

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.

Studies have concluded the virus is introduced to an area by migrating wild birds then likely spread by vehicles or workers moving between barns on neighboring farms.