Blog #388 The Other Virus- highly pathogenic avian influenza




Waterfowl are reservoirs for the highly pathogenic avian influenza, courtesy of aphis.usda.gov.


A newly arrived bird flu, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), is the worst avian flu since 2015 when more than 50 million birds died. Luckily, it's rare for a human to become infected with the avian virus. The outbreak is driving up consumer prices for eggs and chicken meat that, like many costs, had already been rising due to inflation. But unlike a similar bird flu outbreak seven years ago, this one is unlikely to just


Poultry prices soar due to HPAI, photo courtesy of NPR.

burn itself out because it also lives in populations of wild birds. While chickens and turkeys with the virus quickly sicken and die, some waterfowl can remain asymptomatic and carry it long distances.

Piscavorians (fish eaters) like Ospreys are safe for now as they don’t eat contaminated ducks and geese. However, carrion eaters like crows, bald eagles, and vultures are at great risk.


Wild birds can be infected with HPAI and show no signs of illness. They can carry the disease to new areas when migrating, potentially exposing domestic poultry to the virus. Scientists believe that wild migratory birds brought this virus to North America in January. Since then, more than 40 wild bird species in more than 30 states have tested positive in everything from waterfowl including mergansers and loons, crows, red-tailed and Cooper’s hawks, snow geese, and great-horned owls to grackles, gulls, sandhill cranes, and pelicans.


Unfortunately, the virus has taken an unusual toll on raptors or birds of prey, including more than three dozen bald eagles in the northeast so far. Because spring is nesting season, some experts are worried that avian flu may endanger the potential offspring as well. Bald eagles are doubly hit as they hunt living prey and scavenge carcasses, both of which offer possible routes of transmission for the virus. Eagles suffering from the virus may have seizures and be unable to stand up. The eagle deaths are particularly concerning because they are also grappling with lead poisoning stemming from ingesting ammunition while eating animals shot by hunters. A study of 1,210 eagles in 38 states published in the

journal Science earlier this year found that more than half of the birds had chronic lead poisoning. National Geographic says that lead toxicity can impair eagles’ ability to move, prevent them from digesting food, and, if they ingest enough of the metal, kill them.


States contaminated with the HPAI, courtesy of aphis.usda.gov.

The virus strain was first found in South Carolina and North Carolina in ducks killed by hunters. The cases then spread north to farms as wild birds migrated north. On Feb. 9, an outbreak was confirmed at a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana. Many of those infections were reported in Iowa and neighboring states near "the intersection of the Central and Mississippi flyways used by wild birds during seasonal migration.”


Be careful around injured or dead birds, especially ducks and raptors. People who work with wild birds including wildlife rehabilitators, hunters, and researchers must take extra care wearing gloves, masks, eye coverings, and proper respiratory equipment.



Eyes to the sky! Candace


Candace E. Cornell

Friends of Salt Point, Lansing, NY Cayuga Lake Osprey Network


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