With high path avian flu still running rampant among migrating birds, landowners may be seeing dead waterfowl as a result.
A Kansas State University Wildlife Extension Specialist says that ducks and geese are especially vulnerable.
According to Drew Ricketts, “Ducks, geese, or both very good reservoirs for highly pathogenic avian influenza, and when they’re migrating, we see a couple of different things happen. One is that we see big congregations of those birds. Lots of feces being deposited and saliva may be exchanging and then sick birds that have mucus membranes that are shedding that virus— all that stuff comes together to lead to lots of transmission. We’re seeing birds die at reservoirs. Sometimes at pretty high numbers, and so folks are noticing that and it’s definitely something we need to be aware of.”
Ricketts says that the best thing you can do right now is to leave sick or dead waterfowl alone. He stresses the importance of not taking these animals to wildlife rehabilitators due to the risk of spreading disease.
In terms of removing a dead animal. Ricketts notes, “The main recommendation there is that we wear disposable, impermeable gloves of some kind. So exam gloves like latex or nitrile. If you don’t have access to that kind of stuff, some dishwashing gloves that you can throw away after you handle the bird... the recommendation is that you wear a mask, like a N95 mask. So, gloves, mask, double bag the bird, put it in the household trash, but don’t bring it in the house, but put it in the trashcan outside of the house, put it in the dumpster. That sort of thing so it can go to a landfill.”
In December HPAI was detected in seven states, from Kansas to Washington.
HPAI has also been a concern as raw milk drinking grows in popularity.
Raw milk is now being tested after the virus was found in dairy cattle in sixteen states.
Under the USDA’s National Milk Testing Strategy, thirteen states are now required to share raw milk samples for testing. So far, HPAI has been detected in raw milk from California, Nevada, Texas, and Michigan.
More than half of the U.S. is permitted to sell raw milk directly from the farm to consumers.
The FDA has cautioned against drinking the raw product since the 1980s. Research shows that pasteurization does not change milk’s nutritional value. However, it does protect you from getting sick.
- A little more than 3% of the U.S. population is estimated to drink raw milk
- Less than 2% eat raw milk cheese, which can boost your risk of getting sick
- One study found that compared to consumers of pasteurized dairy products, raw milk consumers are 840x more likely to experience illness and 45x more likely to be hospitalized.
