Avian flu can spread from wild turkeys to domestic poultry

We interrupt this continuing report on coronavirus and links to the CDC’s 21-part video series on the proper way to wash hands in order to bring you this exclusive report on a virus you’ve probably never heard of.

This virus can spread from wild turkeys and other wild birds to domestic poultry, making domestic chickens and pet birds very sick or even killing them.

Avian influenza, also called “bird flu,” is a respiratory disease caused by an influenza type A virus, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website.

Wild turkey hunters should be on the lookout for sick birds, although bird flu often does not make wild birds sick. When the disease is transmitted to domestic poultry such as chickens, ducks, quail, pheasants, guinea fowl and turkeys, as well as pet birds, however, it can spread rapidly and devastate a flock.

There are many types of avian influenza, based on combinations of H and N proteins found on the surface of the virus. These strains are grouped according to how likely they are to produce disease in domestic chickens.

Those unlikely to harm chickens are called low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI), and are often found in wild waterfowl and shorebirds without causing illness, according to the DNR.

Those strains that are extremely infectious and often fatal to domestic poultry are called highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). These HPAI viruses plus those with H5 or H7 proteins (because the latter can convert from LPAI to HPAI) are the ones of most concern to both wild and domestic birds.

Dr. Lindsey Long, a veterinarian with the DNR and an authority on avian flu, said the information is from the United States Department of Agriculture.

“The guidance isn’t meant to reference a particular strain but is meant to be general to provide hunters the best guidance on reducing the chances of exposing their domestic flock or themselves to any avian influenza viruses that may be circulating in a population as a precaution,” Long said via email. “While wild turkeys are not considered a species commonly infected with avian influenza viruses, the recommendations are good to follow for all wild bird species harvested and in general are good food handling practices.”

Although wild birds seldom show symptoms of avian flu, hunters should not handle turkeys they find dead nor harvest sick birds to avoid spreading it to domestic birds. Avian flu is not normally transmitted to humans.

“The request to hunters to report dead or sick birds is for broader disease surveillance and is not specific to a strain of avian influenza or even just that virus. Hunters play an important role in assisting us in monitoring for any morbidity or mortality events,” Long said. “We log all observations in a database that allows us to identify if we are getting increased reports of specific clinical signs or mortalities, and it further provides us information that is vital to investigate causes for these instances.”

It’s sometimes difficult to determine how common avian flu is in wild bird populations. Hunters should contact the USDA Veterinary Services office if they see a sick or dead bird in the wild: 866-4-USDA-WI.

“There were increased wild bird surveillance efforts in 2015-17 in Wisconsin for a high pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus that had impacted domestic poultry operations in numerous states,” she continued. “ We did not find that strain in any wild bird that would have been able to carry the virus, but we did have a snowy owl that died from an infection with that strain in 2015 when the outbreak was occurring in domestic birds.”

USDA guidelines for hunters handling turkeys and other wild birds include:

• Dress wild turkeys in the wild when possible, or away from all poultry and pet birds. Use dedicated cleaning tools, wear rubber gloves and rubber footwear while cleaning turkeys (or other wild birds), then clean and disinfect your footwear, tools and cleaning surfaces before washing your hands thoroughly. (You should have had plenty of practice by now.)

• Double-bag the plastic bags used for the bird’s innards and feathers and toss the gloves away.

• Keep uncooked game away from cooked and ready-to-eat foods.

• Cook game meat thoroughly to an internal temperature of 165 F to kill disease organisms and parasites.

The link to USDA guidelines on avian flu, linked to the “turkey hunting” keywords on the DNR site is www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/2015/fsc_hpai_hunters.pdf

For domestic poultry questions, call 608-224-5012. Long can be reached at 608-219-5038.

Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.

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