Avian Flu confirmed on several poultry farms in WI a few days ago. I have an employee that had several parot's die and she was freaking out thinking it was the flu, later testing indicated it was not.

Below is an article on it.

Dave

Bird flu detected on Wisconsin farm for first time since 2015

State officials say nearly 3M laying hens on a Jefferson County farm will be culled to prevent further spread of the virus
By Hope Kirwan and Andrea Anderson
Published: Monday, March 14, 2022, 5:15pm

For the first time since 2015, a case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, has been confirmed in Wisconsin.

Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced the positive case Monday. They said it was found on a commercial egg-laying facility in Jefferson County.

The Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory tested the samples and the National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed the results, said Dr. Darlene Konkle, Wisconsin state veterinarian.

Konkle said state and federal officials are working with the farm owner to cull the nearly 3 million laying hens at the facility. No poultry products will be moved from the facility and the birds will not be used for food.

Officials are also monitoring the farm owners' other nearby flocks, but Konkle said so far, there have been no indications of further virus spread.

"Our main objective is to prevent the spread of this virus either to other wild birds or to other domestic birds, either backyard flocks or other commercial flocks," she said. "So, that's why we need to act quickly."

Konkle said the source of the virus on the affected farm hasn't yet been identified. Several other states have already identified cases of avian influenza this spring, and it has been found in wild waterfowl.

The 2015 avian influenza outbreak in Wisconsin affected nine commercial flocks and one backyard flock in under one month, causing the death of more than 1.9 million birds in the state.

Konkle said officials don't know how the new strain of the virus compares to the one seen in 2015, but she said the death rate reported by the affected farm indicates it's similarly virulent.

"This particular virus, it hasn't been in the U.S. for a very long time. The first detections were in wild birds just near the holiday season," Konkle said. "As far as I'm aware, it does affect poultry species, which would include our common chickens and turkeys, but also other types of birds that people may raise such as peacocks, waterfowl that are raised as backyard birds."

Konkle said officials are working with the farm owner on a plan to dispose of the affected birds.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the highly contagious bird flu:

Doesn't present an immediate public health concern
Hasn't been found in humans in the United States.
Doesn't pose a food safety risk because the virus is killed when someone properly handles and cooks poultry and/or eggs.
State officials monitor for human cases of the bird flu, according to the press release announcing the positive case, and they have plans in place to respond if a human case is found.

For more information on the bird flu, visit the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wildlife diseases website.

Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2022, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

I wouldn't be quick to poo poo avian influenza. It represents one imaginary mutation away from infecting humans, thus a 2 week shutdown to flatten the curve."
Oh, and it will be timed to occur sometime prior to November...

Bird Flu has a low death rate in commercially farmed poultry.

"After the clinical onset, the incidence rates of mortality in breeder, commercial broiler, commercial layer and backyard chickens were, respectively: 0.0215, 0.0341, 0.0179 and 0.0703 per chicken-day at risk. The four major clinical signs observed were cyanotic combs and wattles, oedema of the head and face, drowsiness and huddling and ecchymotic discoloration of the leg shanks."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22435197/

Chickens in commercial operations have an around a 5% mortality rate anyway.

Most birds infected by low pathogenic strains of bird flu, which are the most common strains, show no visible evidence of being infected.

The media and government just like to terrify people to control them.

Keith

More than 700 human infections with Asian HPAI H5N1 viruses have been reported to WHO from primarily 15 countries in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Europe and the Near East since November 2003. Indonesia, Vietnam and Egypt have reported the highest number of human HPAI Asian H5N1 cases to date.

The first report of a human infection with Asian H5N1 in the Americas was in Canada on January 8, 2014 and occurred in a traveler recently returning from China. Although human infections with this virus are rare, approximately 60% of the cases have died.

In the majority of cases, people got HPAI Asian H5N1 virus infection after direct or close contact with sick or dead poultry that were infected with the virus.

Other risk factors include visiting a live poultry market and having prolonged, unprotected close contact with patients infected with HPAI Asian H5N1.. For some HPAI Asian H5N1 cases, the source of exposure is unknown.

The timing of many human cases of HPAI Asian H5N1 has corresponded to the seasonality of HPAI Asian H5N1 virus outbreaks among poultry. Poultry outbreaks occur more often during relatively cooler periods found in months at the beginning and end of the year. However, human cases can occur at any time, especially in countries where HPAI Asian H5N1 is endemic in poultry. Currently, HPAI Asian H5N1 virus is considered endemic in poultry in six countries (Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam), although other counties have experienced poultry outbreaks.

Any commercial flock that tests positive is immediately euthanized and then composted. They are not harvested for consumption.

Just wait in the future things like this will be used to restrict people from having poultry . Just another step in completing control of the food systems.

I don’t know if it has anything to do with the flu but my purple martins have not showed up this year. They have been coming here for years and are always here within a day or two of March 3rd but we haven’t seen any yet this year. Has anyone else notice this?

Walked the bank today checked out a feeder creek next to my place for muskrats it was windy waves had everything splashing about. I see a snow goose floating then another and another one down the bank a ways looking at me. Drove by one further down while checking cages just stood about 25 yards from the truck flipping and shaking its head s lot.

Lots of loose feathers floating around maybe from older ones that sunk already it’s going to be a mess.