CDC Notes No Immediate
Public Health Risk, Public Advised to Report Dead Birds to DEC Regional
Offices for Tracking
The Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that the Highly
Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus has been found in multiple wild
bird species in several areas of New York State. No known HPAI human
infections are documented in the U.S., and according to the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, these recent cases of HPAI do not
present an immediate public health concern.
Avian influenza (AI) is caused by
an influenza virus carried by free-flying wild birds such as ducks,
geese, gulls, and shorebirds. Generally, influenza viruses can infect some
wildlife species without causing signs of disease, but new strains can
emerge that cause illness with high mortality in both wild birds and
domestic poultry. These strains are designated as highly pathogenic, or
HPAI. HPAI outbreaks in wild birds are often cyclical and tied to
migration when birds are concentrated in large numbers. As birds spread
out on the landscape during the nesting season, disease transmission is
expected to decrease.
DEC is working cooperatively
with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) and
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, the agencies leading the joint HPAI incident
response, as well as the State Department of Health and Cornell
University.
This recently detected HPAI
strain likely came from Europe, where it has been circulating since 2020.
Since late November 2021, the HPAI H5N1 Eurasian strain began being
detected across North America. This outbreak expanded rapidly in
mid-March 2022 in North America and HPAI has been detected in many other
states, including those that share a border with New York. In February
2022, the first case of HPAI in New York was found in Suffolk County in a
domestic flock. Since that time, AGM has detected HPAI in domestic poultry
flocks, gamebird breeder facilities, and shooting preserves.
To date in New York, HPAI has
been found in captive chickens, pheasants, and ducks in Dutchess, Ulster, Monroe, and Fulton counties. HPAI
was detected in free-ranging wild birds in Cayuga, Clinton, Montgomery,
Monroe, Onondaga, Seneca, Suffolk, Nassau, Livingston, and Wayne
counties. Wild birds confirmed as infected include snow geese, Canada
geese, tundra swan, mute swan, sanderling, mallard duck, redhead duck,
ring-necked duck, wood duck, hooded merganser, great blue heron, bald
eagles, great horned owls, snowy owl, cooper's hawk, red-tailed hawk,
fish crow, and turkey vulture. Many species of waterfowl, including
shorebirds, gulls, raptors, herons and cranes,
are also vulnerable. Small songbirds have not been affected in New York
or other states. Confirmed wild bird cases are listed on the USDA website and shown on the U.S. Geological Survey map.
While the risk of a person
becoming infected is low, individuals can protect themselves by only
harvesting game that appears to be healthy and properly cooking any game
meat being eaten to an internal temperature of 165° F, which kills the
virus. If handling wild birds, particularly waterfowl, gulls, and
raptors, individuals should follow precautions such as using personal
protective equipment like masks, gloves, and eye protection, and washing
hands thoroughly.
To assist DEC's efforts to
track HPAI in wildlife and provide an early warning to the State
Department of Agriculture and Markets and local poultry
or gamebird operations, please report any suspicious deaths of species
listed above to your local
DEC regional office.
More information on HPAI may
be found at:
CDC Avian Influenza
New York State Wildlife Health Program Field
Biosafety Prototcol (PDF)
USDA Avian Influenza Updates 2022
USGS HPAI Distribution 2021/2022
USDA Guidance for Captive Wild Birds (PDF)
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