Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza; HPAI; from a NAFA news item:
- Exposure rates in waterfowl appear to be quite high. Texas Parks and Wildlife reported 10 of 52 blue-winged teal tested positive. Recent testing in Oklahoma showed positive results in “a majority” of blue-winged teal sampled. HPAI has been detected in waterfowl in virtually every state and province.
- HPAI is highly transmissible and 99% lethal to raptors. It kills very quickly, usually within 48 hours of exposure. It has been found in wild red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons and other raptors. Several nesting peregrines were confirmed to have died of HPAI this summer in Canada and the United States.
- The virus is carried in the water, the feces, and on the feathers of waterfowl. Your falcon does not need to eat or break into a duck to become infected! If your dog enters the pond, or you walk in an area frequented by ducks and geese you or your dog can carry the virus back to your home.
- Freezing the duck or meat does not kill the virus, rather it preserves it.
- If you trap a wild bird, NAFA’s medical team recommends isolating the bird for 7-10 days and using a separate glove before housing it in proximity with your other raptors.
This could be the biggest thing yet,. Emergent viruses scare the hell out of me . And not just for hawk— many of these derive from natural hybrids in Chinese duck farms and the like- something that wont stop soon.