Wildlife illness specialists have confirmed the re-occurrence of the Eurasian pressure of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in California wild birds.
In late October, Canada geese have been discovered useless in Sacramento County and submitted to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Wildlife Health Laboratory for testing. Preliminary testing was carried out on the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory in Davis.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed the detection of HPAI H5N1 in two Canada geese in early November. Subsequent detections have been made in wild birds in a number of further counties throughout mortality surveillance together with from Contra Costa, San Diego, Santa Clara, Solano and Yolo. Detections in waterfowl throughout hunter-harvest surveillance have been reported from Fresno, Glenn, Kern and Yolo counties. Prior to those detections, the final confirmed detection in wild birds occurred in June 2023.
This pressure of Eurasian HPAI H5N1 has been circulating within the United States and Canada because the winter of 2021-22, arriving in California in mid-July 2022. In complete, 354 confirmed detections of the virus have been made in wild birds collected from 44 California counties throughout mortality surveillance performed between July 2022 and June 2023. Detections of the virus appeared to subside throughout spring and summer time in California, in addition to extra broadly within the United States. Now, as waterfowl and different waterbirds are endeavor fall migration, circumstances once more are on the rise.
Avian influenza spreads by means of direct bird-to-bird contact and may unfold to birds by means of contaminated surfaces together with arms, footwear, clothes and searching gear. While the Centers for Disease Control considers the transmission danger of avian influenza to folks to be low, residents and waterfowl hunters are suggested to take precautions to guard themselves, searching dogs, falconry birds, poultry and pet birds.
Steps which will assist cut back the unfold of HPAI:
- Report useless wild birds, and different wildlife, to CDFW utilizing the mortality reporting form. While it isn’t attainable to check each wild fowl for HPAI, all mortality stories are essential and assist illness specialists monitor the outbreak.
- Report sick and useless poultry to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) hotline at 1 (866) 922-2473.
- Prevent contact between home birds and wild birds, particularly waterfowl. Exclude wild birds from accessing hen or different home fowl feed and water.
- Do not feed waterfowl or different waterbirds at park ponds as it might improve the congregation of birds and contribute to illness unfold.
- Do not convey probably sick wild birds home or transfer sick birds to a different location.
- Before transporting probably sick wild birds to wildlife rehabilitation facilities, veterinary clinics, or different animal services, contact the power for steering and to find out if the fowl ought to be collected.
- If recreating open air in areas with massive concentrations of waterfowl and different waterbirds, wash clothes and disinfect footwear and gear earlier than touring to different areas or interacting with home birds.
- Where it may be achieved so safely, think about disposing of useless birds to assist cut back publicity to new birds and reduce scavenging by birds and mammals that additionally could also be prone to an infection. Dead birds could also be collected right into a plastic bag and placed within the common trash assortment.
Additional security suggestions for waterfowl hunters:
- Harvest solely waterfowl that look and behave wholesome. Do not deal with or eat sick recreation. Do not deal with wild birds which might be clearly sick or discovered useless.
- Field costume and put together recreation open air or in a well-ventilated space. Do not costume wild recreation within the neighborhood of poultry or pet birds.
- Wear rubber gloves or different impermeable disposable gloves whereas dealing with and cleansing recreation.
- Remove and discard intestines quickly after harvesting and keep away from direct contact with intestinal contents. Place waste in a plastic bag and dispose in a rubbish container that is protected against scavengers.
- Do not eat, drink, smoke or vape whereas dealing with useless recreation.
- When achieved dealing with recreation, wash arms completely with cleaning soap and water (or alcohol-based hand sanitizer if cleaning soap and water are unavailable), and clear knives, gear and surfaces that got here involved with recreation. Wash arms earlier than and after dealing with any meat.
- Keep harvested waterfowl cool (both with ice or refrigeration), under 45 levels Fahrenheit, till processed, after which refrigerate or freeze.
- Thoroughly prepare dinner all recreation to an inside temperature of 165 levels Fahrenheit earlier than consuming.
- Clean and disinfect clothes, footwear and searching gear earlier than touring to different areas. As applicable, footwear and equipment could also be washed with cleaning soap and water, then disinfected in family bleach diluted 1:10 with water for no less than 10 minutes.
- Bathe searching dogs with pet shampoo after searching, and don’t feed dogs uncooked meat, organs or different tissues from harvested waterfowl.
- Falconers ought to keep away from searching waterfowl, and different waterbirds, throughout the HPAI outbreak.
For extra info on HPAI H5N1, try CDFW’s informational flyer addressing steadily requested questions and hyperlinks to further assets. The USDA maintains the official listing of HPAI H5N1 detections on its website. For steering on holding home birds wholesome, please go to the CDFA and USDA web sites.
For steering on orphaned or injured stay wild birds, please contact your nearest wildlife rehabilitation center previous to gathering the animal. Be suggested that some wildlife rehabilitation facilities might have restrictions on the wildlife species they may admit.
