Smuggled Pets Worry Bird Flu Watchdogs

A worker disposes of dead chickens believed to be infected with the H7 strain of the bird flu virus at a farm on the outskirts of North Tuddenham, England, Sunday, April 30, 2006. The bird flu virus has been found on three farms in eastern England, but preliminary tests indicate the chickens were not suffering from the deadly H5N1 strain, according to government officials on Saturday. (AP Photo/Andrew Parsons, PA) (Andrew Parsons - AP)

WASHINGTON -- Bird flu entering the U.S. through smuggled wildlife is a growing worry for government officials already on the lookout for migrating wild birds.

The concern over the trade in wild animals, pets and animal parts has some precedent, here and abroad.

Gambian rats imported from Africa brought the monkeypox virus to the United States in 2003. They infected prairie dogs purchased as pets. Seventy-two people in the Midwest became ill, but none died.

In 2004, two Crested Hawk-Eagles carrying the virulent strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus were seized from the hand luggage of a Thai passenger at Brussels International Airport in Belgium. The passenger had planned to sell the birds to a Belgian falconer.

Not one of the 25 people exposed to the virus became ill. Officials killed 200 parrots and 600 smaller birds that had contact with the Crested Hawk-Eagles.

"We're very concerned about it coming into the U.S. by whatever means," Assistant Secretary of State Claudia McMurray said.

The deadly H5N1 virus that has spread through Asia, Europe and Africa but has not arrived in the U.S. Scientists fear the virus could evolve into a form that would pass easily from person to person, sparking a global epidemic.

A surveillance plan for monitoring migratory birds says a migrating wild bird is the most likely carrier of the H5N1 virus.

The plan, developed by the Interior and Agriculture departments and the state of Alaska for use in all 50 states, also says the virus could arrive through smuggled poultry, an infected traveler, black-market trade in exotic birds or even an act of bioterrorism.

Authorities in other countries are similarly wary. An estimated 4,500 chickens from China are smuggled into Vietnam every day _ and the H5N1 virus has shown up in samples taken from some of the confiscated birds.

The United States and China are the biggest markets for an estimated $10 billion global trade in illegal wildlife. The black market in wildlife and wildlife parts is second only to trafficking in arms and drugs.

"It's not just a matter of the U.S. telling China, 'Clean up your act.' The two of us are both going to get a handle on it together," said McMurray, head of the State Department's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.