Avian bird flu spreading throughout NEPA

EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU)— The avian bird flu is spreading rapidly across our region.

Thursday, thousands of birds were found dead in a local pond and now several facilities in a our area are warning people of what to look out for.

A few local wildlife facilities say it is very concerning for birds like the ones you see infected here in this video.

They say people shouldn’t hit the panic button, but there are some precautions to take as the spread of avian flu grows in NEPA.

It’s a scene of both beauty and sadness.

As some snow geese fly away, thousands of others lie dead on the surface of this pond located in a private nazareth residential neighborhood.

“We got there, and there were just birds all over the ground,” recalled Sampson Metzegar Lead Avian Specialist at Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation.

Metzegar says the geese have been infected with H5N1, the new strain of avian influenza.

Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center says it brought in 15 birds to the center on Thursday to be sent out for testing.

Waterfowl birds like these snow geese found at the private pond are the most affected, but Metzegar says the flu has also been spreading to prey birds too such as raptors and corvids.

“This is the worst we have seen avian flu in a while, and it’s spreading like wildfire through the birds,” said Metzegar.

But the big question, can humans contract the deadly disease from birds?

“Mammals can also technically get it. It’s a bit harder for a mammal to contract it. Usually it’s by eating or ingesting the injected bird,” stated Metzegar.

The spread is mainly through secretion, fecal and blood.

Once the bird is infected, Metzegar says it can take up to two weeks to show symptoms that are neurological ranging anywhere from disorientation to violent seizures. And death comes suddenly.

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The infected birds brought into this facility died within a day.

This building right here is acting as a quarantine facility for both raptors and corvids who show no symptoms but need to be monitored before coming into the center.

But if any of the birds are symptomatic, Metzegar says they are instantly euthanized.

“And you can imagine just like people at a daycare or in close corners, if one of you get sick, then a lot of you get sick,” stated Susan Gallagher, Chief Naturalist, Carbon County Environmental Education Center.

Carbon County Environmental Education Center Chief Naturalist Susan Gallagher warns people in her county a single mutation can lead to more.

“They are kind of all over pa right now,” warned Gallagher.

Metzegar says for the time being bring your backyard bird feeders inside.

Call either of the wildlife facilities or the game commission if you see a bird that looks neurologically impaired and do not touch any.

If infected, human symptoms can range from a mild cold to something more severe like pneumonia.

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