Breaking News: Bird Flu Update and Cholera Situations
Ryan Barnes for SPLIT REED
By now you’ve no doubt heard about the outbreak of bird flu (High Pathogenic Avian Influenza HPAI) that is devastating groups of waterfowl throughout the country. It has now been found in 46 states in the US. This year’s outbreak has officially become the worst in history. The number of total birds killed according to the CDC is approaching 50.5 million. Now, not all of those birds are waterfowl- however, ducks and geese are being affected in high numbers. The bird flu has had a crippling effect on waterfowl in Northern breeding grounds. Areas like the Dakotas, Minnesota, and the Pacific Northwest are receiving reports of thousands of dead birds each week. As well as multiple other states with large pushes of migrating birds.
Multiple outside reports from biologists across the country are saying that the bird flu isn’t the only thing to blame, though. With a mass of dead birds found in Idaho recently, none of which tested positive for bird flu, it’s now being found that birds are dying from spreading cases of cholera and bacterial infections. These diseases are spread from being around dead carcasses of other birds, which likely started from being around birds that were affected by the original outbreak of avian influenza. Fowl cholera is caused by Pasteurella multocida. The birds most affected by avian cholera have typically been light geese.
Just a few days ago in Minnesota, it was reported by local biologists that a fungal infection was to blame for the multiple dead birds found scattering shorelines. 125 ducks and geese were found on Loon Lake in Waseca. It was determined that the birds had received a fungal infection from something they had eaten. Other infections can be linked back to waste from birds that were infected with HPAI.
A visually clearly sick blue-goose from Spring 2022 in North Dakota.
While this is a devastating turn of events, the good news is it’s very low risk to humans. The guidelines to follow are to avoid eating contaminated birds. The birds you do consume are to be prepared properly with gloves in a clean environment and cooked thoroughly.
More recently, questions have been brought up about bird flu and dogs. Luckily for duck dog owners, the odds of bird flu, cholera, or these other infections being transmitted to a dog are very unlikely. As of right now, there haven’t been any confirmed cases of retrievers having contracted the disease. It is best practice, however, to keep your dogs from eating the carcasses of the bird, as well as avoid exposure to large amounts of blood.
This is an ongoing development and will be reported on continuously by writers here at Split Reed. For more information, you can email us here at info@splitreed.com or contact your local department of fish and wildlife
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