Salem Reporter Can wild turkeys get avian flu?
Yes. So can chickens, peafowl, ducks, geese, hawks, even cats, dairy cows, and people. Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota have found significant infection among wild turkey flocks. There’s been one known outbreak among wild turkeys in Oregon. Those turkeys shared a pond with a domestic poultry flock that got infected.
Nothing about avian flu is simple, not even the tiny virus that causes it. The dangerous strain of avian flu has two names—”H5N1,” a specific genetic variety of the virus, and “HPAI,” Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Recently a second strain has been detected. It’s labelled “H5N9” and was found on a duck farm in California.
Oregon Fish and Wildlife advises: “We are monitoring for HPAI and will test turkeys that die for unknown reasons, but otherwise ODFW’s management of wild turkeys in the Willamette Valley has not changed,” according to spokeswoman Beth Quillian.