While turkeys are especially susceptible to the disease, only a handful have died locally since Oregon isn’t a turkey producing state, officials said.
“It’s definitely serious,” said Ryan Scholz, state veterinarian with the Oregon Department of Agriculture.It’s impossible to know exactly how many wild birds have been impacted, said Colin Gillin, State Wildlife Veterinarian.
Songbirds and wild turkeys have not been impacted, Gillin said, because they don’t typically interact with waterfowl and aren’t a scavenger species.Those birds are just starting to arrive in Oregon, so many more could die in coming weeks in our state, Gillin said.
Still, it’s a mutating disease, officials said, so hunters should wear protective gear like masks and gloves to safely handle wild birds, and they should change clothes when they get home.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture said 16 cases have been confirmed this year in smaller flocks of domesticated birds.About two thousand domesticated birds have been euthanized or died of avian flu in Oregon this year in reported cases, said Scholz.In the case of one large backyard farm with about 400 chickens, Scholz said, the birds started dying on Saturday and by Monday there were “barrels of dead birds.” Agricultural officials had to euthanize the rest.
Officials said people should be careful about handling the birds and should never transport them.
As for domestic birds, responsible owners can help prevent their flocks’ exposure to wild waterfowl by fencing off access to farm ponds or grassy fields, Scholz said.If the disease is confirmed, all birds are euthanized, said Scholz.
“Avian influenza is 100 percent fatal” for domestic birds, which have not developed the immunity that some wild birds have, he added.