Hunters advised to watch for signs of avian flu
Dec. 4—As hunters gear up for waterfowl season, officials are issuing warnings of an avian flu outbreak.
The avian flu already has had an impact across the United States this year with more than 50 million birds dying from the virus. That surpasses a previous high that was set in 2015.
Missouri has seen its 11th case of the highly contagious avian influenza this year, involving nearly 435,000 birds on six commercial farms and four backyard flocks.
With these concerning numbers, officials are warning hunters to look for any signs of sickness in birds.
"There are a lot of visible signs you can notice in a bird with avian flu but it can also be found in a bird that's dead," Parker Rice, a Missouri Department of Conservation agent, said. "A lot of the calls I get are from people who find a dead bird in their yard, whether it be a songbird or a bigger bird, and more than likely it does have avian flu."
The Department of Conservation's website lists tremors, head tilting, lethargy and the inability to fly or walk as symptoms of the virus.
Rice encourages hunters to dress appropriately and wear gloves when handling any birds and to throw away ones that appear infected.
"Take the standard precautions when handling a bird ... double bag them and throw it in the trash if it looks like it's in bad condition," Rice said. "For those hunting birds in healthy conditions, just take the general precautions like use gloves, wash the beak and appropriately dispose of the carcasses by putting them in the trash."
Officials say while the disease does not pose a major risk to humans, taking precautions are necessary to prevent the virus from spreading through food.
"Leaving these carcasses exposed too long has an effect on the transmission of the highly pathogenic avian flu," Rice said. "Human infections are rare but exposure to infected poultry seems to be a suspected cause of the virus in humans so cleaning your birds is important."
Rice said individuals who own domestic birds increase the risk of it spreading from one to another and this plays a key factor in the high numbers of avian flu right now.
"What we want to avoid is exposing other birds to it," Rice said. "If you have domestic turkeys or domestic fowl and chickens, you need to make sure your hands are clean and you're wearing different shoes and wraps when going into the different chicken coops to reduce exposure."
Hunters are encouraged to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water or an alcohol-based disinfectant. Proper cooking to an internal temperature of 165 degrees is also known to kill any virus and make the meat safe to eat.
Information on avian flu safety for hunters can be found at mdc.mo.gov/wildlife/wildlife-diseases/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-hpai.
Jenna Wilson can be reached at jenna.wilson@newspressnow.com.
