Bird flu causes unprecedented damage to bald eagles and other birds

Omaha, Nevada-Avian influenza has killed an astonishing number of bald eagles and other wild birds, and many sick birds have arrived at rehab centers without being able to fly due to instability in Talon.

Victoria Hall, Executive Director of the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center, said: “At that point, they are ill so far and there are no treatment options left.”

Recent outbreaks of highly contagious viruses have killed approximately 37 million chickens and turkeys on U.S. farms since February, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirms 956 wild bird flu cases, including at least 54 vultures. Did. However, not all dead birds have been tested, and federal aggregates do not include cases recorded by wildlife rehabilitation centers, so actual numbers can be quite high.

The number of recently reported victims is about 10 times that of 99 wild birds identified during the last outbreak of bird flu in 2015. This time, the virus was detected in birds in 34 states, indicating that it is much more prevalent than it was seven years ago. ..

The US Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center also collects data from wildlife authorities on suspected and confirmed deaths from bird flu. The number of recent wild bird deaths from bird flu is 8,536.

“This is definitely an unprecedented event,” said Rebecca Poolson, a researcher who has been studying bird flu for 15 years at the University of Georgia’s Southeastern Joint Wildlife Disease Study. “The number of birds, species and states already detected is quite alarming,” she said.

Waterfowl, which usually carry viruses, such as ducks and geese, and raptors and scavengers that feed on them are the most common diseased birds, but cases have been identified in more than three dozen species. Ducks and geese can usually live with the virus without getting sick, but the latest variants have proven to be more contagious and more deadly.

“We’re seeing a lot of the effects of this virus,” said Hall, who treats about 1,000 birds annually at the Raptor Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. “Every day we see birds suffering from this virus.”

Nearly 61% of the 188 birds tested by rehabilitation centers since late March had bird flu, and all but one died. According to Hall, the center will inspect areas for bird flu illnesses and injured birds for workers wearing protective equipment to isolate them before they are isolated, in order to prevent transmission to other birds. I had to install it.

None of the 114 positive cases recorded by the Center, including 28 bald eagles, are included in the USDA count, Hall said. She said the Great Horned Owl had recovered from the virus and gave hope that some wild birds might be able to repel it.

USDA staff have not answered questions about why they are excluding data from the rehabilitation center.

In a study published three years ago, scientists estimate that the number of wild birds in North America has declined by nearly 3 billion since 1970 as humans continue to invade their habitats. However, according to Samantha Gibbs, a veterinarian at the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other experts, how bird flu affects bird populations as the outbreak continues and there is not enough time to study it. It’s too early to know if to give.

“We are very worried. We will be closely watching the mortality rate from spring to summer,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs and Paulson said they were afraid that the virus could survive in the summer when it would normally die, and that migratory birds returning south could lead to fall infections. This happened in Europe, where the virus was first prevalent.

The Bald Eagle — the national symbol of the United States since the 1700s — is one of America’s most famous conservation success stories. Today, with an estimated 300,000 bald eagles in the country (a population that quadrupled between 2009 and 2021), the bird was removed from the US Endangered Species List in 2007.

State and federal authorities will track the success of eagle nesting this spring and summer to measure the effects of the virus.

In Georgia, where three dead bald eagles tested positive for bird flu, the state’s Department of Natural Resources said this year that bald eagle breeding dropped sharply in six coastal counties where many migratory birds spend the winter. I am recording that. Less than half of the 73 nests found there gave birth to offspring, but the success rate of nests elsewhere in the state was close to the average of 78% recorded in recent years.

Some experts, including Hall, suggest that residential bird feeders need to be removed to avoid further spread of the virus, but bird flu is among the frequent songbirds in the backyard. Not recommended by the USDA and the US Department of Fish and Wildlife, as it is not common. Still, they say it is important to regularly clean bird feeders to limit the spread of other diseases.

“Wild birds could use all the help they could get now,” Hall said.

When the virus is found in a poultry farm, authorities slaughter the entire herd to control its spread, even if most birds are asymptomatic. To date, 37.36 million birds have been killed in 32 states.

USDA officials emphasized that bird flu does not jeopardize food safety because infected birds are not allowed to enter the food supply, and poultry and eggs are properly cooked up to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Then it kills viruses and bacteria.

Despite a case of bird flu being identified in Colorado last month, health officials also say that bird flu does not represent a significant health risk to people. Authorities say people are unlikely to get the virus unless they are directly exposed to infected birds.

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Associated Press writer Carrie Antlfinger of Milwaukee and Doug Glass of Minneapolis contributed to the story.