Five years to the week after COVID slammed into Westport, our town faces another highly contagious disease.
H5N1 avian influenza — commonly called bird flu — is here.
Yesterday’s “06880” Roundup included a photo of 2 dead birds in the waters of Ned Dimes Marina, at Compo Beach. Another dead bird was spotted nearby, on the Longshore golf course.
Dead birds, at the Ned Dimes Marina.
However, I reassured readers, “the CDC website shows no reported cases in Connecticut — or east of Ohio.”
Quickly, Peter Reid emailed “06880” with a message: Not so fast.
The town’s animal control officer said: “I’m afraid we do have avian flu in Westport.
“I began seeing symptoms in birds brought from Westport last month. I informed Vanessa Hurta at the Aspetuck Health District, and she has posted some excellent information in the public health section of their site.” (Click here to see, under “Helpful Links.”)
Wildlife in Crisis — where Reid also works — saw its first cases in geese last month, he says.
A pretty sight — but potentially pretty dangerous.
“Now we are seeing various scavenger species coming down with it, including crows, vultures and hawks.
“Wild canids, notably fox, are also scavenging goose carcasses in Westport and are at risk. Wild canids and cats in New York State have tested positive for flu. There are no confirmed cases in Connecticut yet.
“Domestic dogs and cats that are allowed to roam and scavenge carcasses could be at risk.”
Reid says 70 to 80 cases of flu are confirmed in humans in the United States. Hundreds of other cases are under investigation. Almost all human cases have been in people working with infected dairy herds or chicken flocks.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had been working on human bird flu vaccines, but that work has been paused, Reid notes.
A vaccine for chickens has been developed in Europe, but has not been approved by the US Department of Agriculture.
Keepers of poultry in Westport should exercise care.
Fortunately, Reid says, the risk to humans from this outbreak is very low right now. However, he warns, “we are still learning about this year’s highly pathogenic variant, and it has shown the ability to mutate.”
The information on the Aspetuck Health District website is comprehensive. Among the key points:
- Our food supply is safe. Food is safe because the United States has the strongest avian influenza surveillance system in the world. We actively look for the disease and educate the public and producers on the most appropriate practices to ensure health and safety, as well as provide compensation to affected producers to encourage disease reporting.
- The risk to humans is low. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the risk to people from HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks, and commercial poultry to be low.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its partners, including DEEP and the CT Department of Agriculture, will continue to do everything they can to support states and producers. USDA is coordinating closely with state officials and other federal departments on rigorous surveillance, reporting, and control efforts.
To report a dead bird, click here.
Bird flu.
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This is scary. But let’s stay calm. Some questions for Animal Control Officer Reid:
Does bird flu attack the brain? Are human brains susceptible or just bird brains. Is there greater risk in Southern CT where there is a higher concentration of birds and therefore more birdbrains? Similar to equestrian posteriors, do bird brains outnumber birds?
I haven’t been to Westport in over a year. Am I OK?
Yes to all three questions ‼️
Four. I counted the question marks🤩
“The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had been working on human bird flu vaccines, but that work has been paused, Reid notes.” Here we go, back to the dark ages. Grab a leech, folks, that will soon be our medical solution pandemics, along with bleach and an internal tube of light.
In the Autumn the state of CT recommended to take down bird feeders. Birds congregate there and can infect one another.
What will the birds eat if all their feeders are gone? Would it make sense to require a simple test to make sure they’re healthy before we allow them to enter the bird feeder?
When did the town leaders learn about this?
We counted 6 carcasses yesterday on our walk at Compo Beach. Warning to dog owners — the dogs are VERY attracted to the scent. Yuck.
“The town’s animal control officer said: “I’m afraid we do have avian flu in Westport.” Is this confirmed or not? Has there been testing that has confirmed? Simple question, whats the simple answer?
According to this official source there is no confirmed bird flu found so far in birds in westport: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/wild-birds
A robin stopped by our porch today. Her eyes ere winky. We still have a foot of snow on the ground, it is 34 degrees and the wind is blowing like mad here in the MI UP today. She left soon after but was she sick? Was she tired? Brown off course by the freezing winds we had today? We need to pay attn to the birds and their behavior now 🤔
Strange certainty. Here in Bodega Bay, CA it’s the crows behavior that has my husband and I troubled.
We’ve taped our windows as a precaution.
This has been catastrophic for domestic birds we eat, millions of which have been killed even though they weren’t sick , just to stop the spread. Now we are seeing it in wild birds too, and we know cats can die from it . Let’s take a moment to mourn these innocent creatures felled from the skies . The risk to humans is low in the general population . Those who work with birds, livestock must take precautions ,
And it has already jumped to dairy cattle. I keep waiting to hear the Dept of Ag plan for addressing it.
Re Bird Flu – I found a dead owl over the weekend near Newtown Turnpike. Called Weston Wildlife who told me to call the CT DEEP Hotline. Unpleasant guy on the phone wasn’t interested in either picking it up or testing. He said to dispose of it, without mentioning taking precautions like wearing gloves.
Why does an owl suddenly drop to the ground and die??
they have for years before bird flu due to poison people use for rodent control. but what does it really matter? just assume its infected and dispose of it safely.