Colorado’s worst-ever avian flu outbreak has crossed over into more mammals, including a black bear put down in Huerfano County and a mountain lion found dead in Gunnison County, state wildlife officials said Thursday.
While the number of mammal cases of the bird-spread flu remains low, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said, the recent deaths confirm national warnings that the massive current outbreak will have an impact beyond domestic chickens and wild waterfowl.
More than 6 million chickens have been killed on commercial egg farms in Colorado during the latest outbreak, which accelerated in the spring and fall of 2022. Thousands more wild birds have been killed by the fast-working disease, including large flocks of snow and Canada geese near Eastern Plains reservoirs. A handful of raptors have also been felled by the disease, including bald eagles, which total only a few hundred nesting pairs across Colorado.
Wildlife officials and researchers believe the mammals usually come in contact with avian flu by feeding on bird carcasses. A few cases have been reported in smaller mammals, and there are worries in other states that mink farms will further spread the disease.
Crossover to humans for the current strain of avian flu so far is extremely rare, with one case in Colorado from a worker in close contact with large chicken populations. Colorado's worst-ever avian flu outbreak has now resulted in nearly 6.4 million poultry deaths and is increasingly crossing over into wild birds and killing bald eagles and other precious raptors in what wildlife watchers call “the stuff of bad dreams.”
The mass slaughter of egg-laying flocks has decimated the commercial egg market in the state, with every large producer now affected after a spread of the outbreak in December. Wildlife officials say they are overwhelmed by reports of carcasses in the wild and have limited testing of dead birds in order to concentrate efforts in the most impacted areas. worst-ever avian flu outbreak has crossed over into more mammals, including a black bear put down in Huerfano County and a mountain lion found dead in Gunsnison County, state wildlife officials said Thursday.
Whis of the bird-spread flu remains low, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said, the recent deaths confirm national warnings that the massive current outbreak will have an impact beyond domestic chickens and wild waterfowl.
More than 6 million chickens have been killed on commercial egg farms in Colorado during the latest outbreak, which accelerated in the spring and fall of 2022. Thousands more wild birds have been killed by the fast-working disease, including large flocks of snow and Canada geese near Eastern Plains reservoirs. A handful of raptors have also been felled by the disease, including bald eagles, which total only a few hundred nesting pairs across Colorado. Wildlife officials and researchers believe the mammals usually come in contact with avian flu by feeding on bird carcasses. A few cases have been reported in smaller mammals, and there are worries in other states that mink farms will further spread the disease.
Crossover to humans for the current strain of avian flu so far is extremely rare, with one case in Colorado from a worker in close contact with large chicken populations...more
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