LANSING — First-year results from a multistate West Nile Virus study show that while the virus is present in some ruffed grouse in the Great Lakes region, most birds exposed to the virus can survive, according to a press release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

More than 700 hunter-provided samples from Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin were analyzed — both for exposure and infection — in the West Nile Virus in ruffed grouse surveillance project coordinated by the natural resources departments in those three states.

Ruffed grouse hunters in Michigan were asked to collect a blood sample and provide the breasted-out carcass for the study. The blood samples were analyzed for antibodies that would indicate if the bird had been exposed to WNV. Heart tissue was tested for the presence of the virus.

During the 2018 season, Michigan hunters submitted 213 samples from four study areas in the Upper and northern Lower peninsulas. Of these, 28, or 13%, tested positive for antibodies consistent with WNV exposure. The virus was confirmed in nine, or 4%, birds and likely in 19, or 9%. Four birds — one adult and three juveniles and all from the northern Lower Peninsula — tested positive for the presence of viral material in their hearts.

The results from this first year of a three-year study are showing that, while the virus is present in the region, exposed grouse can survive. Research in other states points to good grouse habitat as one factor that can produce birds in better condition that are better able to survive stressors like West Nile Virus.