In Montana, three grizzly bears were institutionalised after falling ill and testing positive for bird flu: OFFICIALS

 

By Theresa Waldrop and Amanda Watts, CNN

January 18, 2023

                                        According to the state's Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, three grizzly bears in Montana were put to death after falling ill and testing positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus.

According to Dr. Jennifer Ramsey, the department's wildlife veterinarian, these were the first known cases of bird flu in a grizzly in Montana and the first in humans for this HPAI epidemic.

According to a statement from the Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the young bears spent the fall in three different places in the state's western region.

According to the statement, the bears "were discovered to be in bad health and displayed disorientation and partial blindness, among other neurological disorders." They were put to death because of their illness and bad health.

Birds are susceptible to the naturally occurring virus known as avian influenza, or "bird flu." The virus has been seen in raccoons, black bears, and a coyote in other states and countries, according to the Montana agency, and there were reported occurrences of HPAI in a skunk and a fox in Montana last year.

Dr. Ramsey spoke to CNN by email to say that "the infection is passed from one bird to another." These animals most likely contracted the disease after eating the corpses of HPAI-infected birds.

Fortunately, unlike bird occurrences, just a few animal cases have been documented in North America, according to Ramsey. For the time being, any bears that exhibit neurologic signs or whose cause of death is unknown are still being tested.

While the discovery of three infected grizzlies in a short period of time may cause alarm, Ramsey suggested that there may have been further instances that have gone undetected.

Wildlife veterinarian: "Wildlife mortalities can be difficult to identify when they occur in such tiny numbers or individuals, particularly in species like skunks, foxes, and bears that don't spend a lot of time in circumstances where they are very visible to the public."

When you make your initial discovery, you tend to start looking more carefully and are more likely to come across more examples, she explained. When several birds are discovered dead on a body of water, it is observed and reported; but, when a dead skunk is discovered, people might not pay it any attention and may decide not to report it.

Although the exact prevalence of the virus in wild birds is unknown, according to Ramsey, "we know that the virus is active pretty much over the entire state due to the vast distribution of cases of HPAI mortality in several species of wild birds."

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 49 million birds in 46 states had died or been killed as a result of contact with infected birds, nearing "a record number of birds afflicted relative to past bird flu outbreaks" in November.

Although uncommon, human infections with bird flu are conceivable "most frequently following intimate contact with diseased animals. Viruses that cause avian flu pose a minimal danger to the general public at this time "According to the CDC's website.

People are urged to report any birds or animals exhibiting "strange or inexplicable occurrences of disease and/or death" to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

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