Alaska State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Gerlach said they have now confirmed avian flu in several bald eagles on Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands, several Canada geese in the Anchorage area, and a Canada goose in Delta Junction.
State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Gerlach says the Mat-Su case confirms that migrating birds have brought avian influenza to Alaska.
These cases represent the first detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 A/goose/Guangdong/1996 (Gs/GD) lineage in wild mammals in Ontario, Canada and in the Americas. One of the kits was found dead and the other was exhibiting severe neurological signs (including seizures) and died shortly after admission to a wildlife rehabilitation centre.
More domestic and wild birds in Montana are being tested for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, state officials said on Friday. Since then, wildlife officials have received wild birds for disease testing daily, she said. A snow goose from Freezeout Lake in Teton County has been confirmed as positive for the virus. Ducks, pigeons, wild turkeys and red-tailed hawks are being tested now.
The flu now affecting birds in Saskatchewan is a severe strain of influenza that has mingled genes from Eurasia and North America, according to Dr. Trent Bollinger, a professor at Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and a pathologist. Bollinger said that the severity of the disease, which he says is the H5N1 strain, depends on the species.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency say avian influenza has been detected in additional poultry flocks in southern Alberta as well as in Saskatchewan.
The mortalities to date include a snow goose (Hyde County), redhead duck (Carteret County), red-shouldered hawk (Wake County) and bald eagle (Dare County).
An outbreak of avian flu that has killed vast numbers of domestic and wildfowl in recent weeks in northern Israel has likely reached its peak and began to abate over the past week, officials said Friday. In the Hula Lake Reserve, some 5,000 cranes died of the disease. The grim job of collecting crane carcasses from the lake by the ministry’s staff and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority was expected to end on Monday, the report said.
Wild pheasants and mallards have tested positive for avian influenza this summer, an unusual find according to the National Veterinary Institute.
The H5N8 virus was detected in sick and injured birds in February and early March this year, including in a swan found dead in Helsinki's Eläintarhanlahti park and a goshawk sent to Korkeasaari Wildlife Hospital from Kumpula. Several birds infected with avian influenza have been found in Uusimaa this winter.
Bird flu, or avian influenza, has struck the Swedish poultry industry hard this winter. Since November, thousands of turkeys and more than one million chickens have been culled. Malin Grant, an epidemiologist at the National Veterinary Institute, says the virus can be deadly for domestic poultry but the strains currently circulating don't easily infect or spread between people.
Bird flu has been detected in a goose found in Rogaland. The Veterinary Institute has analyzed samples from the bird, which show highly pathogenic bird flu A (H5N8). This virus has caused outbreaks among birds in several European countries this autumn.
Eagle in Bay View dies, was showing symptoms of Bird Flu
"We had an unusually large number of calls about skunks that were acting strange or being found dead and it was all within the area where we had confirmed that the avian influenza virus was present in the snow geese," Dr. Margo Pybus, a provincial wildlife disease specialist with Fish and Wildlife Alberta Environment and Parks, said. "We believe that the skunks are feeding on the dead geese and they are getting enough virus that it’s actually affecting the skunks."
Scottish seabirds, including guillemots, kittiwakes, and terns, have experienced significant losses due to avian flu, with 2,300 sick and dead birds reported in a two-week period, and it is expected to take years for populations to recover.
Bird Flu cases continue to rise in Alaska and are spreading across the state. Note: in Anchorage this has included two bald eagles and four Canada goose.
Cambodia has tested at least 12 people for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, the health ministry said, after an 11-year-old girl died this week from the virus in the first known transmission to humans in the country in nearly a decade.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists collected the sample containing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N2 virus, or HPAI, from a mallard during a routine bird-banding activity. The HPAI virus is not considered a threat to humans, Alaska officials said.
Thirteen of the state's 14 confirmed mammal deaths have occurred in the past month.
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