Bird flu warning issued for Bucks County parks as dead birds reported

🔴Bird flu alert in Bucks County Parks & Recreation facilities

🔴Officials warn HPAI has been detected in the county’s 7,000 acres of parks

🔴Use caution around dead wildlife

Bucks County Parks and Recreation issued an advisory Friday about an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, in its 7,000 acres of parks and properties.

The agency warned that HPAI has been detected in wild birds and other animals but did not disclose specific locations. A nationwide outbreak of bird flu has impacted wild and domestic birds in every state since January 2022.

Signs of HPAI in wild birds includes diarrhea, discharge from the nose, coughing, sneezing, and incoordination, but some birds may show no signs before death, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. There may be multiple sick or dead animals in a single location.

While HPAI can infect humans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined the current outbreak poses a low risk to humans. However, it is advised that humans limit contact with dead wildlife and to keep children and pets away.

Any sick or dead domestic birds should be reported to Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture at 717-772-2852. If you have had contact with sick or dead birds and are not feeling well, contact your primary care physician or the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-724-3258.

ALSO READ: Body of man found at Central Bucks West High School

Bird deaths reported across PA and NJ

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported the deaths of hundreds of snow geese in a Northampton County quarry in December.

Another outbreak was reported by the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at a Lancaster County poultry facility in February that affected 2.6 million birds at one location and 1.4 million birds affected in another.

Over a thousand sick or dead geese were reported across New Jersey in February including confirmed detections by the NJ DEP in 8 counties (Bergen, Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Salem, Somerset, Sussex and Warren) and preliminary detections in another five (Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, and Hunterdon).

However, not all the deaths were because of bird flu. Testing on brant geese at the Jersey Shore came back negative for bird flu, which likely means the cold weather and lack of food could be the actual cause of death.

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