Outbreak Of Bird Flu Getting Better

Saturday, July 15th, 2023 -- 7:31 AM

The worst outbreak of bird flu in U.S. history is waning.

Whether it's over is another question according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  But federal and state data show a marked reduction this year in bird deaths from the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza. The virus has been circulating in the U.S. and other parts of the world since late 2021. As of July 11, there had not been a case of avian flu in commercial poultry in nearly three months, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At this time last year multiple farms were being depopulated each month due to the disease. And the number of wild birds known to be affected has dropped substantially. The USDA has recorded 7,144 wild bird mortalities due to the virus since Jan. 1, 2022. The number is thought to be only a small fraction of the actual toll the virus has exacted since wild birds are so widely distributed and difficult to sample. But the trend has been revealing. Over the last six months only about 500 wild bird deaths have been linked to HPAI in the U.S.

And in Wisconsin 162 wild birds were documented with bird flu from late March to late September 2022. In the first six months of this year that number dropped to eight (seven bald eagles and a Canada goose). Birds that gather in flocks and breeding colonies are particularly affected by H5N1, as are raptors that scavenge on sick or dead birds infected with the virus. Ducks, geese, swans, eagles, hawks, pelicans, cranes, gulls and terns are among the types of birds found dead and have tested positive for the H5N1 during the current outbreak.

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