Bird Flu Takes 700 Wild Vultures in Georgia Sanctuary, State Workers Euthanize 30 Other Birds

At an animal sanctuary in Georgia that also cares for more than 1,500 other animals, bird flu has killed 700 wild vultures. State employees also put 20 to 30 other birds to death.

Officials from the Noah's Ark Bird Sanctuary reported that no other birds there have tested positive for the highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 or displayed symptoms.

Bird Flu Outbreak

This year, a virus outbreak has killed 40 million chickens, turkeys, and around 2,000 wild birds. According to data from the US Department of Agriculture, the wild birds include nearly 220 bald eagles and more than 240 black vultures. Due to it, even seals have perished.

Officials claim that on Saturday they were informed that preliminary results show the black vultures that frequent Noah's Ark perished from the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain. According to a statement made public, state authorities were alerted when an overwhelming number of dead vultures have been discovered on August 13.

According to Allison Hedgecoth, manager of animal care at Noah's Ark, at least 700 wild black vultures have perished.

She added that yesterday, all of their chickens were euthanized along with their turkeys and guinea hens.

The sanctuary is a habitat for over 500 birds, according to the station. According to the sanctuary's website, these include an ostrich, emus, two sandhill cranes, a peacock, cockatoos, and a Eurasian eagle owl.

Containing the Spread

In Locust Grove, approximately 48 kilometers southeast of Atlanta, you can find Noah's Ark. It is located over 160 kilometers northwest of the region where the majority of the initially disclosed 15 wild bird causalities from the virus were found, as well as where large numbers of birds in a mixed backyard flock ended up dead or were put to death earlier this year.

The Noah's Ark website indicated that it would be closed until September 3 in a sign.

To stop the spread, the Department of Agriculture, as well as the Department of Natural Resources for Georgia, established a 9.6-kilometer perimeter around the sanctuary.

State Sen. Emanuel Jones, whose district covers Henry County, said that if it is not contained right away, the disease could spread fairly quickly among birds with the ability to fly and move around, ABC News reports.

Bird Flu

Bird flu or avian influenza, a type A influenza virus, can be fatal to humans as well as lethal to poultry. Both domesticated and wild birds can contract the bird flu. Humans who come into contact with poultry or even other birds or humans have also contracted it from birds.

There isn't any concrete proof that the virus can spread from person to person. However, in a few rare instances, this may have occurred when a person fell ill after tending to a sick family member.

Scientists are worried that a bird flu virus may mutate and combine with the flu virus for humans, making human-to-human transmission possible.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu is the one that is currently affecting Asia. More than 130 people have died from this strain since 2003 in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Egypt, China, and Iraq.

Australian commercial flocks of birds have experienced several bird flu outbreaks, all of which were contained and eradicated.

Tags bird flu, 700 wild vultures, Vulture, Georgia, sanctuary, animal sanctuary, euthanized, birds