A great black-backed gull displaying neurological symptoms on Block Island last month is the same species as the gull found on a South Kingstown beach on June 23 that tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the first confirmed case in Rhode Island, either in wild or domestic birds.U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
PROVIDENCE — A great black-backed gull found seriously ill on a South Kingstown beach tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the state announced Wednesday, the first confirmed appearance of bird flu in the state related to an outbreak that began in 2020.
Though the risk to humans remains low, conservation groups and state officials said people should take measures to protect not just vulnerable wild birds, like piping plovers, red knots and roseate terns, but stocks of domestic fowl like chickens and ducks. Those measures include not touching dead birds, keeping dogs on a leash and away from bird carcasses, and disinfecting shoes and boots before and after going to parks or the beach if you have poultry or backyard flocks at home.
“You can’t keep birds from congregating,” said John Herbert, a biologist with the state Department of Environmental Management. “That’s part of their natural biology and behavior. But we can help limit the spread. We want to make sure the public understands the risk is not to human health, but if they do have chickens or ducks at their house, they should be aware of this.”
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According to the DEM, a strain of H5N1 bird flu first emerged in Europe and Central Asia in 2020. It reached North America in December 2021.
The great black-backed gull in South Kingstown, which was found on June 23, is the first confirmed case in Rhode Island, either in wild or domestic birds. A sample had been sent to a U.S. Geological Survey site in Wisconsin to confirm it.
But in the past six weeks, multiple locations along the Atlantic Coast, including Rhode Island, have seen higher than usual numbers of dead water birds like cormorants, gulls, shearwaters and terns. DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife has a count of 40 dead water birds reported this summer.
That does not include a recent large-scale mortality event of shearwaters, which is now thought to be unrelated to bird flu, the DEM says. It might have been starvation-related, Herbert said Wednesday.
The last U.S. outbreak of a highly pathogenic — in other words, more severe and deadly — avian influenza was in 2017, the DEM says. The disease has hit nesting shorebirds in Europe particularly hard, the DEM says.
People can report dead bird sightings to the DEM online. Signs of infection can include imbalance, inability to fly and breathing distress.
Brian Amaral can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44.
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