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Source: https://gizmodo.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-bald-eagles-outbreak-deaths-cu-1848800055
Surging Bird Flu Cases in the U.S. Have Come for the Bald Eagle
A dangerous strain of the avian influenza has caused the death of millions of birds, and is spreading fast in wild eagle populations.
ByLauren Leffer
35 minutes ago
Three wild bald eagles found dead in Georgia were confirmed to have died from bird flu on Thursday, increasing the toll from a recent surge in avian influenza cases that’s caused the death of tens of millions of birds in total.
Across more than 25 states, massive numbers of wild and domestic birds are sick and dying from a new version of the avian influenza virus, which has caused multiple prior avian epidemics. It’s already the worst bird flu outbreak in the U.S. since 2015 in terms of domestic poultry deaths, and is burning through wild bird populations at a troubling rate.
On Thursday, initial testing of more than 200 deceased waterbirds at Baker’s Lake forest preserve near Chicago, consisting mostly of endangered double-crested cormorants, revealed those animals probably died of avian influenza as well. Cormorants seem to have been very susceptible to the disease because they are gathering at crowded nesting grounds; in contrast, only a few dozen bald eagles have been killed so far, because they’re more solitary.
“This outbreak in wild bird populations is a lot more extensive than we saw in 2014 and 2015,” David Stallknecht, a bird flu researcher at the University of Georgia, said in an interview with NPR. “Just a lot more birds appear to be affected.”..
Surging Bird Flu Cases in the U.S. Have Come for the Bald Eagle
A dangerous strain of the avian influenza has caused the death of millions of birds, and is spreading fast in wild eagle populations.
ByLauren Leffer
35 minutes ago
Three wild bald eagles found dead in Georgia were confirmed to have died from bird flu on Thursday, increasing the toll from a recent surge in avian influenza cases that’s caused the death of tens of millions of birds in total.
Across more than 25 states, massive numbers of wild and domestic birds are sick and dying from a new version of the avian influenza virus, which has caused multiple prior avian epidemics. It’s already the worst bird flu outbreak in the U.S. since 2015 in terms of domestic poultry deaths, and is burning through wild bird populations at a troubling rate.
On Thursday, initial testing of more than 200 deceased waterbirds at Baker’s Lake forest preserve near Chicago, consisting mostly of endangered double-crested cormorants, revealed those animals probably died of avian influenza as well. Cormorants seem to have been very susceptible to the disease because they are gathering at crowded nesting grounds; in contrast, only a few dozen bald eagles have been killed so far, because they’re more solitary.
“This outbreak in wild bird populations is a lot more extensive than we saw in 2014 and 2015,” David Stallknecht, a bird flu researcher at the University of Georgia, said in an interview with NPR. “Just a lot more birds appear to be affected.”..