Poconos wildlife groups have confirmed that dozens of snow geese in various areas of the Lehigh Valley have tested positive for H5N1, also known as avian influenza.
This comes as the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced that hundreds more people are suspected of dying from avian influenza.
“I've never seen anything as bad as this,” said Janine Tancredi.
Mr. Tancredi, co-executive director, The Wilders at Pocono WildlifeI've been working on the tough part of my job for the past few days.
“We will euthanize it upon arrival,” she said. “We really don't have a choice.”
She said when she and her team arrived at the quarry in the Nazareth area on Thursday, they had already found hundreds of dead birds.
“People were reporting birds falling from the sky,” Tancredi said. “It seems crazy, but they have such severe neurological damage that they don't know where they are. They fly into trees, they fly into houses.”
She said all the snow geese her team tested for H5N1 (at least 35) in the last few days at four locations in the Nazareth region and one in the Bethlehem region tested positive.
“So 15 people died on arrival to begin with,” she said. “We had to euthanize one person.”
Tancredi added that part of the property is privately owned and the owner did not want the location made public, but residents within the area have been notified.
She also said she believed the total number of people affected was “probably closer to the thousands.”
Her findings were as follows. Pennsylvania Game Commission It was just announced that 200 snow geese have died in the Lehigh Valley and it is suspected to be avian influenza.
The Game Commission said the results have not yet been confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratory.
Tancredi said these cases are a highly pathogenic avian strain known as H5N1, given that the Game Commission recovered geese from Lower Nazareth Township in Northampton County and Upper Macungie Township in Lehigh County. He said there was a high possibility that it was nothing other than “influenza.”
“All were located less than four miles from where they tested positive,” Tancredi said.
Still, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said it is “confident” that the current outbreak poses “a low risk to the public health.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture said the commonwealth has been on “high alert” since the 2016 events. outbreak It will happen in 2022 and was stated as follows:
“To date, there have been no human cases in Pennsylvania.”
But the virus is particularly contagious and deadly to poultry, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said.
“It doesn't matter how clean you are,” Tancredi said. “So someone is going out there and cleaning the chicken coop five times a day. It takes one bird to fly over it, which is contaminated, has feces, and is exposed. ”
So what should we do? Officials say to avoid contact with bird feces and saliva, which is where the virus spreads.
Tancredi said organic materials cannot be disinfected, but hard surfaces must be cleaned with a 10% bleach solution, or so-called bleach. Rescue disinfectant.
If you have a dog, stay away from waterways and consider buying dog boots on Amazon.
Tancredi said: “I know it's an extreme situation, but should I avoid walking my dog for the next few months? Because this situation isn't going to end anytime soon.” .
If you find a dead bird or other animal, or if you see an animal that looks disoriented, authorities urge you not to touch it and report it to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
You can call 1-833-PGC-WILD (1-833-742-9453) or email us. [email protected] or use online Wildlife health survey tool.
