The strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza circulating in the U.S., the first since 2016, doesn’t appear to pose a threat to humans, but is highly contagious among birds and often fatal.
Emiquon Preserve is closed to the public until further notice due to potential avian flu, or Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza . Details, updates and FAQ's will be included in the following thread.Several poultry farms in the U.S., with millions of birds on-site, have been hit hard by the virus. In the 2014-15 outbreak, the worst to date in the U.S., approximately 50 million birds died or were euthanized.
“It’s like we’re getting out of one pandemic and going into another,” said Annette Prince, director of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors. She and her team are increasing their sanitation procedures, even though most of the birds they deal with are low-risk songbirds. But the public should be aware of the outbreak, Prince said, and leave any handling of birds to professionals.: People should limit their contact with poultry and wild waterfowl and shorebird species. Regarding the latter, don’t feed them, the center said.
The virus thrives in colder temperatures, so the hope is that as the weather warms up, the threat will diminish, said Prince.