Duck and goose droppings, the bane of golfers and park visitors, may help scientists track the spread of bird flu - with olfactory assistance from properly trained animals.

Judith told me about this - "Blood hounds, cadaver dogs, and other canines who serve humanity may soon have a new partner ? disease detector dogs ? thanks to an unusual experiment in which scientists trained mice to identify feces of ducks infected with bird influenza. Migrating ducks, geese, and other birds can carry and spread flu viruses over wide geographic areas, where the viruses may possibly spread to other species ..."

"Mice in a Pennsylvania lab recently passed a significant, if potentially unpleasant, smell test when they learned to detect the odor of bird flu infection in duck droppings."

Here is an intersting one:

"( American Chemical Society ) Blood hounds, cadaver dogs, and other canines who serve humanity may soon have a new partner -- disease detector dogs -- thanks to an unusual experiment in which scientists trained mice to identify feces of ducks infected with bird influenza. Reported here today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, the proof-of-concept study may pave the ..."