Avian flu found in another Sacramento-area county, adding to wild bird disease toll
Amid growing concerns of outbreaks in several other Northern California counties, Yolo County health officials on Tuesday announced the detection of avian flu in a wild bird.
The county in a news release said a bird “has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).” It was not clear what type of bird was detected with the virus.
Avian flu has also been detected in wild birds in Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Mendocino, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma and Stanislaus counties, Yolo officials said in the release.
Butte County earlier this month declared a local health emergency over avian flu following the discovery of a large outbreak among 1,500 privately owned birds.
A backyard flock of chickens in Sacramento County also contracted avian flu; 10 chickens discovered with the disease Aug. 10 were euthanized.
The disease can also infect humans, but officials wrote that the risk to the general public in Yolo County “is very low at this time.” Health officials note that while avian flu is very contagious, humans are only at risk if they have handled live birds or carcasses without using personal protective equipment.
There is potential for the virus to infect other mammals as bird flu viruses evolve.
Yolo County officials said anyone who notices “unusual or suspicious numbers of sick or dead domestic birds” should immediately contact the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s sick bird hotline at 866-922-2473.
Dead wild birds should be reported to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife online, at wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Laboratories/Wildlife-Health/Monitoring/Mortality-Report.
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 8:47 AM.
