The Oregon Coast Aquarium has temporarily closed its Seabird Aviary to prevent the introduction of a highly contagious and deadly avian flu now known to be in 36 states, affecting tens of millions of birds.
The strain of “highly pathogenic avian influenza” known as H5N1 was first detected in eastern Canada in November 2021 and has since resulted in the death by disease or intentional depopulation of more than 35 million birds and been detected in at least 50 species, more than any previous avian flu.
It was first confirmed in Oregon on May 5 in samples taken from a backyard flock in Linn County. State officials quarantined the premises, and the approximately 90 birds in the flock were euthanized, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Courtney Klug, communications and marketing specialist for the aquarium in Newport’s South Beach, said the presence of the virus in other states already prompted precautionary measures at the Seabird Aviary, and its detection in a nearby county called for more drastic action to protect the winged residents.
“Once cases were confirmed in Linn County, we felt it was best to close the Seabird Aviary to mitigate any risk, because highly pathogenic avian influenza can be carried on human clothing or via equipment,” Klug said. Prior to the closure, floor mats at entrances to the aviary were filled with a disinfecting solution to eliminate pathogens tracked in on shoes.
The enclosure is home to tufted puffins, horned puffins, rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillemots, common murres and black oystercatchers — all at a particularly high risk of contracting H5N1, Klug said, because of their habitat.
“Our birds are seabirds, and waterfowl are especially susceptible to catching (highly pathogenic avian influenza) because it’s transmitted through mucous, saliva, through feces, so once that’s in the water it just spreads so easily,” Klug said. “So, we’re just taking every single measure possible to ensure our birds stay safe and healthy.”
Behind the scenes, they’ve built canopies in their unsheltered bird areas to protect them from the threat of viral spread via feces from above.
“That’s what a lot of this is from, wild birds migrating and passing on influenza,” Klug said. She said there was no timeline yet for the length of the closure but speculated it would be at least a few weeks.
Linn County lies within the Pacific Flyway, the 3,000-mile north-south migration route traveled by about a billion birds a year, both spring and fall. Cases in the Midwest are concentrated along the Mississippi Flyway, which follows the river of that name north to and up the Missouri.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the public health risk associated with these avian influenza detections in birds remains low. The risk to some birds is extremely high, with death rates up to 100 percent mortality within 48 hours in some poultry species, according to the CDC.
The agency identified the first human case of H5N1 on April 29, a man in custody in a Colorado correctional facility who was working on a poultry farm as part of a pre-release program. It’s also been detected in wild mammals.
The U.S. spread of the virus is so far concentrated in the Midwest, particularly in commercial poultry farms in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.
Officials recommend the following steps to reduce the risk of avian flu spread in commercial and backyard flocks:
• Restrict access to your property and keep your birds away from other birds.
• Keep a designated pair of shoes to wear around your birds, wash clothing after visiting your birds and use disinfectants correctly.
• Clean and disinfect cages, poultry equipment and car tires after visiting a farm store, poultry swap or other location with birds present.
• Keep new birds separate from your flock for 30 days; quarantine returning birds from the rest of your flock after visiting a poultry swap or other event.
• Do not share equipment or supplies with others, but if you must, disinfect it first.
• Wash hands before and after bird handling.
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