That highlights the need for a surveillance program such as we're starting in North America.
There are birds that fly directly across the Pacific from Southeast Asia to our western states like California, Oregon and Washington.
Initially, wild birds are primarily victims. Someday they may become vectors. We don't know how that will play out. What I would like to see is the virus stopped before it gets to America so we don't see the last reel of this film played out in North America.
We have chosen sites and species of birds that we think are the most likely ones that contact birds over in the Russian Siberian side that have the potential to migrate and make contact with birds in North America.
We should check the large amount of air traffic and air cargo between the United States and Asia through Alaska. We should investigate each outbreak like a crime scene.
The United States is a huge country. There are millions of birds on the move -- but we're going to work smart.
It will be like 'Survivor.' We'll see which ones get voted off the island.
We also worry that birds will stop off in some of the U.S. territories in the Pacific like Guam, and Hawaii.
We haven't bet the farm on just Alaska. We have people all over the place. We are training wildlife biologists, rangers and, in some places, the public health officers as to what to look for.
There are tools we can use. It is not true that nothing can be done once H5N1 is back into wild birds.
