First case of new avian flu detected in Alaska

By Peter Loewi
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation reported over the weekend that the first case of a highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in Alaska. State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Gerlach said in a press release that “With this confirmed case, it’s clear that migrating birds have brought avian influenza to Alaska this spring.”
His office has worked with a host of federal and state entities to provide accurate, but more general information about the impact this virus might have and recommendations on caution. In an interview with The Nome Nugget, Dr. Gerlach expanded on what that means for the region and subsistence hunting.
After years of training people across the region to send in samples for testing, however, the contagiousness of this virus — and the potential to jump to humans — means that people should avoid picking up the birds for now. “We’ve been recommending to coordinate with the local Fish and Game office or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Migratory Bird Program to see how they want this reported. Then they can coordinate and get information on how to collect samples, and how to ship them. We want to make sure that we can get good samples that are going to give us data and can get that information back to the submitter so they can understand what was found.”
Currently, the risk of transmission to humans is said to be low, but public health agencies are wanting to be proactive. So far, only one case has been detected in humans in the U.S., a worker at a poultry farm in Colorado. The situation can change, and the information and best practices can, too.
At this point in time, Gerlach explained, the advice to hunters are the standard recommendations: “Don’t shoot or harvest game that appears sick. If you found an animal injured or dead, just leave it there.”
“When you do process it, go ahead and use standard procedures,” he said, such as wearing rubber gloves and washing the area the game was cleaned on. “Not only can avian influenza be in these birds, but there can be other bacteria and other pathogens that can cause illness. Using that sanitation can protect you and protect your family.” Game, he added, should also be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F. As of May 3, in the USA, 36,772,949 domestic poultry have been infected but the virus has only been detected in 899 wild birds and in one human. Alaska is one of 34 states where the virus has been detected, and the case was found in a “non-commercial backyard flock of chickens and ducks in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough,” according to the press release.
So why this huge difference between wild and domestic animals? “We know that avian influenza virus is present in North America continuous, but it’s a low pathogen strain,” explained Gerlach. “It doesn’t cause a lot of mortality. But with the high pathogen strains like this one entering the state, we don’t know what the prevalence is. Those studies haven’t been done. But what we do know, is that when it gets into a domestic poultry operation, we’ll see mortality rates of 70 to 90 percent of the animals.”
“That is astounding,” he added.
“Domestic birds are different from wild birds in the fact that they’re generally contained in a concentrated area,” Gerlach explained. “We might have 1,000 birds in one chicken coop, and that means they’re in close contact with one another. If you 1,000 wild birds outside, and the breeze is blowing, they’re not necessarily right on top of one another, they’re a little bit wider spread, so there can be less of a spread of that virus in the population.”
There will be a Strait Science presentation on May 26 about the avian flu.
Until then, to report observations and concerns about migratory birds, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Sick/Dead Bird Hotline can be reached at 1-866-527-3358. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Health Reporting can be reached via email at dfg.dwc.vet@alaska.gov. Reports can also be posted to the Local Environmental Observer Network, www.leonetwork.org or locally to Gay Sheffield, UAF Alaska Sea Grant at (907)434-1149.

 

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