Three goslings in the Detroit area have tested positive for bird flu and are the first confirmed cases of H5N2 avian influenza in the state.
The free-ranging Canada Geese goslings were collected last week in Macomb County’s Sterling Heights, near Lakeside Mall.
According to officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, avian influenza (bird flu) viruses are highly contagious and can affect free-ranging and domestic poultry such as chickens, turkeys and quail. Infected birds may show difficulty walking, lack of appetite and a drop in egg production.
The virus has been found in 20 other states. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Midwest chicken and turkey producers have lost nearly 47 million birds on over 200 farms since the region’s first case of H5N2 avian influenza was confirmed on a Minnesota turkey farm in early March.
Dr. Eden Wells, Chief Medical Executive of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, told WWJ Newsradio 950 that — while the risk to humans is considered low — there are some things to look out for.
“If you have contact with an infected bird, you need to be monitoring your own health for possible symptoms,” said Wells, “such as conjunctivitis — which is an inflammation of the eye — or flu: developing a cough or a sore throat or fever.”
“As a general precaution, people should avoid wild birds and observe them only from a distance,” she said. “Avoid contact with infected birds that have become ill or have died, and avoid contact with sick wild birds that have appeared ill (or) have died.”
The Sterling Heights goslings exhibited seizures and head tremors, said Steve Schmitt, a wildlife veterinarian with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. They were found by residents near the popular shopping mall and taken to a local veterinarian.
The state is now focused on preventing the disease’s spread in wildlife and its transmission to domestic poultry, DNR director Keith Creagh said.
The state will monitor birds in a 10-mile radius around the area where the confirmed cases were found and create a management zone that will include Macomb and Oakland counties.
Source: CBS Detroit