Bird Flu

[Mary Terry]

A man in Louisiana, a state adjacent to mine, contracted severe bird flu from "backyard flocks". I haven't been able to determine if he handled backyard chickens or a backyard flock of wild birds such as black birds or crows. At any rate, I'm now paranoid about feeding the wild birds and providing clean water in bird baths. Clearly, water birds like ducks, geese, terns, storks, etc. are major carriers of bird flu but songbirds like jays, mockingbirds, cardinals, and woodpeckers are less likely to be infected. I've read that commercial chicken producers don't want any wild birds near their chickens due to potential exposure to flu.

Do you think it is "safe" for me to fill birdfeeders and wash out the bird baths every day as long as I wash my hands and not breath aerosolized water spray from the bird baths?

 

[FayetheAspie]

I don't really know. Perhaps try to learn more about how bad the case is in your area and what is being recommended before making a decision.

 

[Outdated]

I was just reading about this a few minutes ago. The man in Louisiana that was hospitalised is 65 years old and also had other underlying health conditions, but at the same time there's been a big rise in the number of human cases in the US in the last couple of years. Wearing gloves while cleaning out the bird baths might not be a bad idea.

One thing the story I read didn't mention and I'm curious about, is it badly affecting your milk and beef exports?

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I was just reading about this a few minutes ago. The man in Louisiana that was hospitalised is 65 years old and also had other underlying health conditions, but at the same time there's been a big rise in the number of human cases in the US in the last couple of years. Wearing gloves while cleaning out the bird baths might not be a bad idea.

One thing the story I read didn't mention and I'm curious about, is it badly affecting your milk and beef exports?

I'm no expert resource here, but from what I understand, it has infected some cattle herds. That said, most countries will not accept beef and dairy from the US anyway (another conversation). Furthermore, we import a large percentage of beef.

 

[Mary Terry]

I'm finding some contradictory information about the risk of humans getting bird flu.

Our state board of animal health says people can get infected when the virus gets in their eyes, nose or mouth and recommend wearing gloves, a mask or eye protection around birds even if the birds don't look sick. That would include bird feeders and birdbaths in my judgment.

The US Department of Health and Human Services says the most common songbirds and other wild birds found in the yard, like cardinals, sparrows, blue jays, crows and pigeons, don't get the bird flu viruses that can be dangerous to poultry and spread to humans. I'm not sure I believe that.

I'll start wearing one of those clear plastic full-face visors left over from the Covid pandemic when I fill up the feeders and put clean water in the birdbaths and continue to thoroughly wash my hands afterwards. I'm still recovering from RSV I caught on Thanksgiving and I certainly don't want to get another respiratory infection.

 

[Outdated]

We've had a few outbreaks in Australia too but so far it's only poultry farms that have been affected. We're pretty harsh with quarantine when an outbreak occurs because our beef exports are a fair chunk of our economy.

 

[Mary Terry]

I was just reading about this a few minutes ago. The man in Louisiana that was hospitalised is 65 years old and also had other underlying health conditions, but at the same time there's been a big rise in the number of human cases in the US in the last couple of years. Wearing gloves while cleaning out the bird baths might not be a bad idea.

One thing the story I read didn't mention and I'm curious about, is it badly affecting your milk and beef exports?

I'm more worried about inhaling water spray from the hose when I wash out and refill the birdbaths and the dust from the bird feeders. I can always wash my hands and be careful not to touch my face with them before I wash them.

Some contaminated domestic, pasteurized milk supplies have been dumped, and drinking raw milk is strictly recommended against. Well, drinking raw milk is like playing Russian roulette anyway. I haven't heard anything about any impact on beef. The major problem has been commercial poultry producers who have had to kill entire flocks, which made eggs scarce and drove up prices.

 

[Judge]

Indeed, it has been disturbing to hear the latest speculation over the Bird Flu. Particularly some advisories suggesting humans get inoculated with generic flu shots, despite all the different strains making their rounds.

Not sure what to think right now.