DNREC joins with feds on snow geese deaths

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services to collect sick and deceased snow geese and other wild birds that may have died from avian flu. 

Sick or dead wild animals found in Delaware should be reported to the DNREC Wildlife Section. Reporting deceased or ill wildlife does not guarantee that DNREC and APHIS Wildlife Services will respond to every report, only that a DNREC or APHIS Wildlife Services representative will assess the report, and if additional information is needed, may make follow-up contact, officials said.

The effort to track the bird flu is funded through DNREC and the Delaware Department of Agriculture.

State authorities said dead birds should not be picked up unless wearing disposable plastic gloves. Officials said they are aware waterfowl hunters have examined and placed their harvest in a game bag or use a carrying strap without following recommended precautions for wild birds that might have contracted avian influenza.

Officials ask:

• Anyone encountering sick or dead wild birds on private or public property to report their findings immediately to state authorities.

• Report sightings of sick or dead wild birds through the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s sick, injured or dead wildlife reporting form.
• Notify DDA if you find sick or dead poultry on your farm at poultry.health@delaware.gov.

• If a resident finds a dead wild bird on their property and wants to remove it themselves, they should wear proper personal protective equipment, including gloves, a mask, and safety glasses, to dispose of it. Double-bag each dead bird found, zip-tie the bag and put it in the trash bin for pickup and disposal at a Delaware Solid Waste Authority landfill. Residents are also advised to carefully remove and dispose of all PPE in the dedicated trash bags and always wash their hands afterward.

• Additionally, waterfowl hunters are advised to follow more focused protocols from APHIS for handling and field dressing any wild fowl they harvest in Delaware during an avian influenza outbreak.

Avian influenza is a highly contagious airborne respiratory virus that spreads quickly among birds through nasal and eye secretions and manure, officials said. Snow geese, which are waterfowl, are known to migrate from the Arctic and form large flocks in Delaware each winter. Due to close contact with thousands of other snow geese while feeding and roosting, they can get sick and die. It is unknown when or where the snow geese may have acquired the virus given their highly migratory nature and association with other waterfowl and waterbirds throughout the Atlantic Flyway through which they travel into Delaware and more southern states.

While the H5N1 virus has infected a small number of people across the U.S., officials said, there is no documented transmission of the virus between people in this country. Though the continued testing of people in close contact with animals infected with HPAI indicates a low risk to the general public’s health, children and pets should be kept away from wild birds and bird droppings.

Anyone in contact with wild birds or poultry who begins to experience flu-like symptoms should contact the Delaware Division of Public Health Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at 888-295-5156 (after hours) or 302-744-4990 (business hours) for a referral to a DPH clinic to obtain a flu swab test. Flu-like symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, congestion, body aches, fatigue, and sometimes diarrhea. If symptoms seem severe, including trouble breathing, chest pain or pressure, dizziness/confusion, severe muscle pain, seizure, severe weakness or unsteadiness, worsening of chronic medical conditions, or fever or cough that begin to improve and then worsen or return, please dial 911 or visit the emergency department. Let hospital staff and providers know if you have been exposed to poultry or wild birds.

For more information about avian influenza impacting wildlife, go to the DNREC website, and for more information on avian influenza and the state poultry industry, visit de.gov/poultry.