A group of Department of Natural Resources and US Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services wildlife biologists and technicians gathered on the lawn of a home in a newer subdivision in Meridian Township near Lansing. A makeshift fence of posts and chicken wire has been set up to help corral Canada geese into a temporary holding pen. The geese reside on a pond in the middle of the subdivision.

The geese, none too happy with being penned up, even temporarily, hiss and squawk at the biologists as they are picked up one by one and examined. The sex of each bird is determined, and then its cloaca is swabbed with what looks like an oversized Q-Tip. The swabs are carefully placed in sealed tubes, marked with barcodes and repacked in a container for transport to the DNR's Wildlife Disease Lab at the Michigan State University Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health for testing.

This momentary indignity visited upon Canada geese on an overcast morning in late June near Lansing was happening all over both Michigan and the other 49 states. The geese were part of a sampling of waterfowl and shorebirds that will be tested for Highly-Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Once swabbed and outfitted with a leg band for federal migratory research and tracking, the geese were released back into their habitat.

Highly-Pathogenic Avian Influenza is a virus of global concern. Though not yet present in the United States, AI's highly pathogenic strain H5N1 has been fatal to both birds and humans in Asia. However, even if the strain is detected in the United States, it does not mean that a human pandemic has begun or will begin, cautions DNR Wildlife Veterinarian-In-Charge Steve Schmitt.

"This is part of our early detection and warning system," Schmitt says of the bird monitoring project occurring in Michigan and across the US this summer. "Avian influenza is primarily a bird disease now, and has a great deal of difficulty infecting humans."

In other countries with outbreaks of HPAI, humans infected with the virus had come in close contact with sick or dead infected domestic poultry, by plucking feathers off dead infected birds, selling sick poultry in live bird markets, and sleeping in barns with sick birds where they were exposed to bird droppings.

The national surveillance project the DNR is helping conduct this summer focuses on wild birds, especially geese and ducks. Samples will be collected from 100 geese in late June, 100 mallard ducks in August and 800 hunter-harvested ducks this fall in wildlife management units all over the state. DNR biologists and wildlife technicians will focus on certain species of ducks that are known to migrate to and from parts of Asia or migrate to breeding grounds in Alaska where they could commingle with Asian birds. These species include northern pintails, mergansers, green-winged teals, American widgeons, northern shovelers and scaups.

The samples, once collected, will be tested at the MSU lab, one of 39 labs across the country certified by the USDA to perform tests for avian influenza.

If a sample tests positive for the virus, it will be sent to a USDA lab in Ames, Iowa, for further testing to determine the specific strain and whether or not it is highly pathogenic.

The DNR's work in monitoring wild birds for HPAI is supported by a portion of the $91 million appropriated for 2006 by the federal government for avian influenza monitoring and prevention.

Schmitt said he believes that should the virus enter the United States in a wild bird it will likely enter through Alaska or a West Coast state, carried by a shorebird or waterfowl that has had contact with infected wild birds in Alaska.

In addition to sampling wild birds this summer and fall, the DNR is urging Michigan residents to report when they encounter six or more dead shorebirds, ducks or gulls in a group.

"Michigan would get a fair amount of warning that HPAI had entered the US if it enters through Alaska or a western state," Schmitt said. "However, that does not discount the fact that Michigan citizens can help us by reporting any large scale die-offs of shorebirds, ducks or gulls that they notice. A die-off would be one of our first indicators that there is a problem."

Citizens noticing die-offs of six or more birds should call the DNR Wildlife Disease Lab at (517) 336-5030 or their nearest DNR office.

Schmitt said that other countries also are testing wild birds for HPAI. China recently tested 13,000 wild birds and found the virus in only six. Between the US and Canada, at least 100,000 wild birds will be tested this year, Schmitt added.

"The spread of HPAI H5N1 from a game bird to a human is possible through close contact with feces and fluids when handling or dressing an infected bird, but it will be a rare occurrence," Schmitt said. "I don't see us shutting down bird hunting seasons if or when HPAI arrives, but we would issue precautions for handling waterfowl and game birds when hunting."

More information about avian influenza, including the state's response plan, can be found at www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases.