MA: 2022/2023 Bird Flu in wild birds

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.itemlive.com/2022/06/20/...-of-avian-flu/

Swampscott Police warn residents of avian flu
By Anthony Cammalleri | June 20, 2022

SWAMPSCOTT — Avian flu is “running rampant” among beaches in the North Shore, and police here are warning residents to be wary of injured or sick aquatic birds after receiving an increase in calls from residents reporting injured or sick birds.

“Animal Control has informed us that there is a significant increase in Avian flu among aquatic birds in our area. We have been advised to stay away from and not touch these aquatic birds,” Swampscott police wrote in a Facebook post last week.

Beaches in Lynn, Nahant, and Marblehead have also been affected by the increase, police said...

Avian flu is a naturally occurring virus among aquatic birds that can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species, according to the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Although avian influenza viruses do not normally infect humans, sporadic human infections with avian influenza viruses have occurred, most following direct or close contact with infected poultry. Symptoms can range from mild to severe.

But, the office said, the spread of avian influenza viruses between humans has been “limited, inefficient and not sustained.”

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.boston25news.com/news/lo...BLSU7LY4LWMUM/

‘Hundreds’ of dead cormorants wash up on Martha’s Vineyard, animal control says
By Alexander Newman, Boston 25 News Staff
June 20, 2022 at 9:03 pm EDT

TISBURY, Mass. — Animal control on Martha’s Vineyard issued a warning Monday after “hundreds” of dead cormorants were found across the island.

West Tisbury Animal Control says the birds have been found washed up on beaches or floating in seaweed.

The birds may be dying from a new strain of Avian Influenza and have been sent to Mass Fish and Wildlife for testing, according to animal control...

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.wcvb.com/article/dead-sw...n-flu/40449550

Swans from Charles River Esplanade euthanized after exhibiting avian flu symptoms
WCVB Updated: 10:55 PM EDT Jun 28, 2022

BOSTON —

Officials from Boston's Parks & Recreation Department say two swans living along the Charles River Esplanade have been euthanized after exhibiting bird flu symptoms.

The Animal Care & Control Division responded to the Esplanade on Monday after receiving multiple calls about two sick swans.

With the help of Boston firefighters, Animal Control Officer Patti Jones captured the adult swans and took them to the city's animal care facility.

"Unfortunately, the birds were quite ill, exhibiting symptoms consistent with avian influenza and were humanely euthanized," a statement from a Parks & Recreation official said...

[sharon sanders]

bump this

[Shiloh]

Source: https://provincetownindependent.org/...k-on-the-cape/

Dead Gulls Portend Avian Flu Outbreak on the Cape
MassWildlife expects results of testing this week
By Amelia Roth-Dishy Feb 8, 2023

PROVINCETOWN — On his daily walks along the harbor beach, Marc Guerrette occasionally sees a bird or two that has washed ashore, the result of natural animal mortality brought in by the tide.

But a few weeks ago, Guerrette, a Provincetown resident, began to observe a startling number of dead gulls on the beach, especially in the area around the Johnson Street parking lot.

After counting 26 gulls between Bubala’s Restaurant and Four Eleven Gallery on Jan. 31, Guerrette made a series of calls that rang alarm bells all the way up to the state level about the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus that has devastated wild and domestic bird populations nationwide in the last year.

The great black-backed gulls that have appeared on the Provincetown Harbor beach are, local experts agree, likely casualties of an avian influenza outbreak.

The virus cannot be confirmed in the birds until testing is conducted, however, according to state ornithologist Andrew Vitz. On Feb. 3, multiple fresh carcasses were collected for sampling and will undergo preliminary testing this week, he said...

[Shiloh]

Avian Flu Found in Provincetown Gulls
‘Putative positive’ tests await USDA confirmation
By Amelia Roth-Dishy Feb 15, 2023

PROVINCETOWN — Preliminary test results on the great black-backed gull carcasses found on the harbor beach are consistent with avian influenza, confirming suspicions reported in the Independent last week.

MassWildlife coordinated the effort to collect fresh carcasses for sampling on Feb. 5.

Kaitlin Sawatzki, a postdoctoral scholar and the animal surveillance coordinator at Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine’s Runstadler Lab, tested the samples on Feb. 9. The Runstadler Lab conducts preliminary avian influenza testing for wildlife clinics across the Cape...

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.heraldnews.com/story/new...g/70060589007/

Why are swans dying in Swansea? Here's what we know.
Audrey Cooney
The Herald News

SWANSEA — The state will investigate what has caused several swans in town to die suddenly in recent days.

“They don’t look visibly attacked,” said Lisa White, the town’s animal control officer. “They just appear to be passing away.”

As of Wednesday, White has collected the bodies of five swans that have washed up dead in the past week in the Compton’s Corner area of the the Cole River in Ocean Grove.

A resident reported a sixth swan floating out of reach in the swampy water on Wednesday morning.

None of them had any visible injuries.

Neighbors have been keeping an eye on them

Terri Sowers, who lives nearby, said she and other neighbors have noticed that none of the other local birds like ducks, egrets and seagulls seem to be affected by whatever is killing the swans...

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.heraldnews.com/story/new...u/70135792007/

What's killing the swans in Swansea? Officials finally have an answer.
Audrey Cooney
The Herald News
April 20, 2023

SWANSEA — Avian flu, also called bird flu, was the cause behind a cluster of deaths among the town's swans, officials reported on Thursday.

Last month, Swansea's animal control officer began monitoring a cluster of swans who were found dead in the town. Many of them turned up in the Compton's Corner area of the Cole River in Ocean Grove. Animal Control Officer Lisa White notified the Massachusetts Division of Wildlife and Fisheries and sent some of the dead swans in for third-party testing.

In total, 24 swans and one goose have now died from the outbreak.

On Thursday, the town announced results from testing done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the National Wildlife Health Center and Tufts that said six dead swans and one good tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPIA.

“At this time, there have been no reports of Avian flu detected in humans or domestic livestock in Swansea or Bristol County,” the announcement read in part...