The results of thousands of samples taken from migratory birds in Alaska are in. So far, no signs of H5N1, but thousands more will be tested this month.

As migratory birds from Asia head to Alaska this summer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is gearing up for its busiest testing weeks yet. Scientists looking for signs of the avian flu (H5N1) are busy sampling thousands of birds in the hopes of catching any early warning signs of avian flu in Alaska, before the fall migration could send infected birds back to the lower 48 states.

Over 5,000 more samples could be taken this month, and scientists expect to be sending samples back from the field at a rate of around 1,000 a week, according to Deborah Rocque, the Avian Influenza Coordinator for U.S. Fish and Wildlife in Alaska.

Samples will be taken from migratory birds at around 25 field locations throughout the state. The samples will then be sent to the U.S. Geological Survey National Health Center in Madison, Wis., to be tested for H5N1.

Alaska could be one of the first locations where infected birds may be found in the United States because many birds migrating from the influenza hot zones in Asia migrate there in the summer. There the Asian birds co-mingle with many birds from the lower 48 states who also migrate to Alaska in the summer months.

While scientists can't do much to stop avian flu from coming to the US, they do hope that an early diagnosis in Alaska would enable the lower 48 states to take any necessary precautions before the birds return this fall.