A strain of bird flu that has spread across the world over the last two years infecting wild and domestic birds was detected two weeks ago in a bald eagle found dead near Jones Point.
In an effort to maintain bird social distancing and reduce the spread of the virus, veterinarians and biologists are urging residents to remove bird feeders and baths and not to let chickens range freely.
The virus can cause bird fatalities but is low risk for humans.
Flu is commonly spread among birds but the strain found in the local eagle was identified as a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) strain that originated in Asia in 2019 and has been causing outbreaks and fatalities among bird populations around the globe.
The strain was first reported in Alaska in April. Since then positive cases have been confirmed in a variety of species across the state, including in the Aleutians, Anchorage and Sitka.
“The unique thing about this strain is not only that it’s being spread by wild birds but it’s impacting different species,” said state veterinarian Robert Outbreaks of avian influenza usually impact domestic waterfowl and game birds but this particular strain is concerning because it’s making wild birds sick, Gerlach said.
“In most cases, the wild birds carry it and don’t get sick with it,” Gerlach said. “In this case, it’s very different.”
Still, Gerlach said researchers in the Lower 48 haven’t observed major mortality in raptors, although there was a die-off of vultures on the East Coast. At the end of last year more than 5,000 cranes died at a refuge center in Israel. Thousands of geese died in England earlier this year.
When asked about the potential effect of the virus on bald eagles, Gerlach said “that’s one of the things that everyone is watching.”
So far in Alaska there have been only about 20 reported positive cases — mostly in wild birds with the exception of a poultry operation in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Bird flu cases normally drop off in summer months, when temperatures rise and migratory birds carrying the disease move on. But Gerlach said the disease has been found in wild and domestic birds year-round in Europe.
“There is reason for concern in the fact that it’s a virus that’s behaving differently than what we’ve seen in the past,” Gerlach said. “(We’re) waiting to see what happens here (in Alaska), but it doesn’t look very promising.
Josh Sanko, animal curator at the American Bald Eagle Foundation, said the Foundation received a call a few weeks ago about the dead eagle at Joines Point.
“I went out with my mask, my gloves and made sure that I was being super safe because we have birds at the Foundation,” Sanko said.
He said he didn’t see any obvious causes of death. The bird didn’t look injured or excessively skinny, so he suspected the virus could have been the culprit.
“It is something that we worry about because it can be fatal when you’re dealing with it in your poultry or your wild bird population, but I think the best thing people can do is take steps to mitigate that spread,” Sanko said.
Sanko too advised removing bird feeders and baths and to keep chickens in covered enclosures. The goal is to reduce interaction between wild and domestic bird populations.
“We’ve been keeping a close eye on what’s been going around the country and we have protocols in place at the foundation to mitigate the possibility of spread around our team and wild birds in the area,” Sanko said.
Gerlach advised residents to report dead or sick birds, or birds behaving suspiciously, by calling the “dead bird hotline” at 1-866-527-3358.
Bird flu infections in humans are rare. There has been only one reported case this
spring in the U.S.
A man in Colorado who was exposed to infected poultry at a commercial farm tested positive for the virus in April. He reported feeling fatigue for a few days but no other symptoms.
There was a positive human case in the United Kingdom last December in a person who raised birds that became infected, the CDC said. That person reportedly did not have symptoms.