Avian Influenza

The Challenge: The health of the abundant waterfowl species of Chesapeake Bay has become a major concern due to the spread of Avian Influenza (AI) across North America and the role of waterfowl as a vector of AI. For decades, the health of the Bay’s waterfowl has been affected by the degradation of water quality and food supply due to industrial contaminants,agricultural run-off, pollution from...

Mallard duck as such as this pair may be reservoirs of Type A influenza viruses, which under some circumstances may potentially become pathogenic to waterfowl, other wildlife and even humans.