State officials are urging caution after a presumptive case of avian influenza has been identified in an ailing duck at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

A student found the duck earlier in the week, according to the Hawaii Department of Health. Laboratory testing confirmed the duck carried the H5 subtype of influenza A virus.

Confirmation of avian influenza, or H5N1, is pending from the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Iowa, in the next week or two.

At this time, officials said, the risk of infection to humans is considered low.

“Human infections remain rare and are primarily linked to direct animal exposure,” said health officials in the release.

Avian influenza has been circulating worldwide, and is highly infectious among wild birds and poultry, with outbreaks on the

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