Category: Avian Influenza
California: Avian Influenza Detected In Deceased Mountain Lions
California Department of Fish and Wildlife The Eurasian strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) was detected in two mountain lions in Mono County in December 2022 and January 2023, according to wildlife health experts with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). While additional disease testing is being conducted to rule out […]
Mar 28, 2023
Bird Flu Outbreak at New York’s Sole Supplier of Pheasants
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a game farm in Ithaca. The Cornell Wildlife Health Lab conducted testing and confirmed positive results which now places the Reynolds Game Farm under quarantine for 120 days. According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, 500 of the 6,600 […]
Mar 28, 2023
UK: Dolphin found dead on beach was infected with avian flu
Tivy The adult female dolphin was discovered on Newgale beach last month. Tests have shown that the creature – who died from other causes – was carrying the avian flu strain. In recent weeks, a dolphin in Dorset and a harbour porpoise in Yorkshire have also been found to be infected with the virus, which […]
Mar 28, 2023
Foxes in Germany test positive for H5N1 bird flu
BNO news Four foxes in Germany have tested positive for H5N1 bird flu, local officials say, just weeks after red foxes in France succumbed to the same illness, which is affecting a growing number of mammals. The four foxes all died in Lower Saxony, a state in northwest Germany. Two were found dead in the […]
Mar 21, 2023
COVID-origins study links raccoon dogs to Wuhan market: what scientists think
Nature Some scientists say the analysis provides new evidence supporting the hypothesis that the virus that causes COVID-19 spilled over from an animal — but falls short of definitive proof. Raccoon dogs, bamboo rats, palm civets: these are just some of the animals whose DNA has been found in swabs taken from the Huanan Seafood […]
Mar 21, 2023
First birds, now mammals: how H5N1 is killing thousands of sea lions in Peru
Guardian Avian flu has decimated the marine creatures on the country’s Pacific coastline and scientists fear it could be jumping from mammal to mammal. t first, it appears to be dead. Its head lies in the sand, and a small tide pool has formed around it. Its shoulder blades jut out and its coffee and […]
Mar 21, 2023
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus in a Harbor Porpoise, Sweden
CDC We found highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b associated with meningoencephalitis in a stranded harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). The virus was closely related to strains responsible for a concurrent avian influenza outbreak in wild birds. This case highlights the potential risk for virus spillover to mammalian hosts. Europe and, more recently, North […]
Mar 21, 2023
First Texas Case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Detected in Mammals
Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife The National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed this week the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a striped skunk recovered from Carson County. This is the first confirmed case of HPAI in mammals for Texas. Detected in all states across the U.S. except Hawaii, HPAI is a […]
Mar 21, 2023
Bird flu may be making foxes and other animals behave in unusual ways
(New Scientist) Analysis of wild mammals infected with H5N1 bird flu in the US found that many had brain infections and neurological symptoms, including lack of fear of people. Bird flu is infecting the brains of wild mammals such as foxes and raccoons and may be making them behave in unusual ways, according to a […]
Mar 21, 2023
USGS Initially restricted to wild birds and poultry, spillover into wild mammals was first confirmed at the beginning of May 2022 in Canada and then a few days later in the United States. The detections were in wild red fox kits. A new study co-authored by USGS scientists describes the detections of disease due to natural infection […]
Mar 21, 2023
