The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is monitoring an outbreak of avian influenza affecting birds statewide, including two species in Summit County.
The agency reported 49 positive cases since October, which is when birds typically migrate for the winter season. In Summit County specifically, three great horned owls and one Canada goose tested positive for the disease, according to state wildlife veterinarian Virginia Stout.
“The flu has been coming and going in waves over the past several years, so our first cases of this new strand started in 2022 and has waxed and waned since then,” Stout said. “It’s been killing these wild birds, so that’s our concern, but there are a lot of other concerns as well for agriculture because it can spread to poultry facilities.”
The avian flu often appears first in waterbirds, which can then transfer the illness to other species. Stout said there have been instances of the flu jumping to cows and interfering in dairy production in addition to affecting poultry farms.
It also occasionally infects humans, but Stout said cases are rare in the United States.
“So far, the human cases have only been found in poultry workers or workers who are in close contact with infected birds,” she said. “We haven’t really seen it spreading from a wild bird to a human. … It acts like any other flu, so the symptoms are similar to other influenza viruses.”
Stout said the Division of Wildlife Resources is mostly concerned with how the avian flu will impact the local ecosystem, especially if cases continue to rise as they have in the past few months.
“(The cases) seem to be a little bit higher than in previous years, but the spring and the fall is when we typically see an uptick,” Stout said. “If they’re moving through the area, they mingle with native birds, and the virus can change and mutate at that point, and other birds become infected. It’s not unusual, but we have seen just a little bit more mortality than normal.”
Previous strains of the avian flu were less fatal for bird species than this year’s version, Stout said.
“In 2014 and 2015, I think we only had a couple of cases from that particular outbreak, but this strain that started in 2022 seems to be a lot more pathogenic,” she said. “It causes a lot more death than in the past, and it’s something that I think we’re going to have to get used to and try to mitigate as much as we can.”
Stout said mitigation is difficult because they can’t contain the disease in the wild. Instead, the Division of Wildlife Resources monitors outbreaks as they happen to keep the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food apprised of the situation in case the illness spreads to a poultry farm.
“The main thing is our surveillance system because as we find new cases, we can let the Department of Agriculture know where it’s popping up so they can ramp up their biosecurity,” Stout said. “Sometimes, it means that we’re picking up birds from an area to reduce the contact between birds and infected or dead birds. Unfortunately, there aren’t a whole lot of things we can do to mitigate it, but we need to be aware and remove those carcasses.”
There’s not much for an average Summit County resident to do to help curb the spread of the avian flu either, but Stout said it’s important to know it’s in the area and to make sure people are not touching or interacting with any deceased birds.
“If people encounter them, we ask that you call the division so we can go investigate and pick them up if we need to,” Stout said. “Stay away, don’t pick them up and keep your pets away as well.”