No bird flu reported in state

The Nevada Department of Wildlife, working with personnel from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services, has tested nearly 2,500 bird samples from around Nevada and found none positive for avian influenza.

State and federal agencies are conducting the tests as a pre-emptive measure, although the avian influenza - also referred to as the "bird flu" - has not been detected this year in wild birds or domestic poultry in North America.

State and federal personnel captured live birds over the summer and sampled ducks, geese and swans taken by hunters from October through January.

The objective set forth in the Nevada plan was to sample migratory bird species most likely to have contact with Asia or mingle with birds coming from there.

The state collected a total of 772 samples. Federal officials collected more than 1,500 samples in Nevada from live birds, hunter-harvested birds and from the environment in which the birds live.