Alaska Natives are worried that one of their main sources of food may kill them.

Birds have been hunted by Alaska Natives for centuries. But they may be carrying the deadly bird flu virus that originated in Asia and has spread to parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

"We don't joke about what we eat here," Steven Mann, an Inupiat from the village of Kipnuk, told The Los Angeles Times.

So far, no human cases have been reported in the Americas. But scientists are looking at Kipnuk, which lies in the path of two major bird flyways, for signs of the bird flu virus.

Danny Mann believes the virus will reach Alaska. It's "not a matter of if, but when," he told the paper.

Mann was hired by the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. to take samples from birds that villagers hunt. The corporation has warned villagers not to eat, drink or smoke when cleaning birds, and to cook the mean thoroughly, a suggestion that some have ignored because they consider the half-cooked eider a delicacy.

Get the Story:
Alaska villagers living in bird flu's flight path (The Los Angeles Times 10/22)
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