In the Great Plains states, wildlife experts have seen mass die-offs in snow geese. In New Hampshire, about 50 Canada geese died in a single event. In Florida, for example, more than 1,000 lesser scaup ducks have succumbed to the virus. Waterfowl, and raptors that eat their dead bodies, are bearing the brunt of it. 'Just a lot more birds appear to be affected.' 'This outbreak in the wild bird population is a lot more extensive than we saw in 20,' says David Stallknecht, an avian influenza researcher with the University of Georgia. In contrast, this latest bird flu virus is being detected in sick and dying birds all over. The last time a dangerous bird flu entered the country, Richards says, 'the number of instances where we picked that particular virus up in wild birds was very, very limited.' after a wigeon duck in South Carolina tested positive. In January, government officials announced its arrival in the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center. 'The very first moment it got to North America, it was a heads up to us,' says Bryan Richards, the emerging diseases coordinator at the U.S. Tests showed this deadly bird flu virus had made it across the Atlantic. Then, in December of 2021, chickens and other fowl got sick and started dying on a farm on the island of Newfoundland, Canada. And they have worried about the possible threat these viruses might pose to American birds. Wildlife experts have long known that highly pathogenic bird flus like this one were circulating in Europe and Asia. Jude Children's Research Hospital.Īnimals An outbreak of bird flu is pushing poultry prices higher Raptors could be especially hard hit 'What that means for the virus in terms of how it evolves, how it changes, we just don't really know,' says Richard Webby, a flu researcher at St.

This pathogen will also get a chance to genetically mingle with the flu viruses that are already circulating in the U.S. 'It's clearly able to persist and transmit from year to year in parts of Asia, Europe, Africa, and I don't think we should be surprised if that's going to be the case here.'Īs the virus moves across the country, and potentially settles in for the long haul, it will encounter new animal species that could get infected. 'It's somewhat surprising how widespread it is already in North America,' says Jonathan Runstadler, an influenza researcher at Tufts University.

This strain of bird flu virus has turned up in everything from crows to pelicans to bald eagles. Since then, more than 40 wild bird species in more than 30 states have tested positive. Scientists believe that wild migratory birds brought this virus to North America a few months ago.

Israel bird flu outbreak