Avian flu situation is getting worse and precautions must be taken now

Ann BrokelmAn

is an avid birder and nature photographer naturephotosbyann.blogspot.ca

Hello Beach Metro Community News readers, today’s topic isn’t a happy one, but I think it’s necessary that we spend more time addressing the worsening avian flu situation.

I’ve written before about what to do when you’ve found an injured bird: How to prepare a box to contain it, how to pick it up carefully, and how to bring it into a safe space like your garage.

I want to be very clear now, that this should only apply to songbirds that you believe have struck a window, or something similar.

If you see sick or dead waterfowl, farm birds, hawks, owls, crows, or blue jays, DO NOT TOUCH THEM!

Please keep reading for more information and to learn more about what to do.

While many of us look forward to the return migration of the birds, this year there is a huge concern over the High Pathogenic Avian

Influenza (HPAI).

With migration, the opportunity for transmission, and mutation, has greatly increased. Now, while avian flu isn’t new, it’s different this year.

To help put it in perspective, the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC), “conducts yearround targeted surveillance for AI having tested an average 6300+ birds (live and dead) per year between 2005 and 2016, during this time an average of ~14 positives were identified per year.”

(http://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/ docs/fact_sheets/avian_influenza.pdf)

Now, compare that ’14 per year’ to what the CBC just reported a few days ago: “Across Canada, an estimated seven million birds and counting have been infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) during a devastating global outbreak that shows no signs of winding down.” (www.cbc.ca/news/health/ avian-influenza-spreadevolution-1.6804656)

Not only is the flu having a ‘devastating’ effect on our birds, H5N1 has also crossed over into 40 different spe-