Bird Flu Spreads to Pet Birds in Vermont

A backyard flock in Vermont was sickened with H5N1, agricultural officials said on Thursday, following other reports of bird flu-related animal deaths this month beyond commercial farms and wildlife.

The U.S. Agriculture Department and state regulators said they learned of the incident on December 18, after one bird in the non-commercial flock died. The next day, they confirmed the presence of an H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), and more deaths followed in the flock of two dozen “non-poultry” birds. (Officials did not specify the type or types of birds.) Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) said it quarantined and later killed the rest of the flock.

News of the sickened birds came as Oregon’s Agriculture Department said it linked a house cat’s death to an H5N1 strain it detected in Northwest Naturals-brand “raw and frozen pet food.” And earlier in December, an outbreak at a wildlife sanctuary in Washington state killed 20 big cats. The incidents are part of a larger wave of H5N1 illness affecting poultry, cattle, cats, and humans, along with wild birds. However, Vermont officials said of the backyard flock: “Lab testing confirmed that this case of HPAI is not the strain currently impacting dairy cattle herds in other states around the country.”

The VAAFM added, “Though HPAI is considered to be low risk to human health, the individuals who had contact with infected birds or their environment are being monitored by the Vermont Department of Health.” The officials noted this was the fourth such backyard-flock case disclosed in the state in under three years, and they urged animal owners to protect their birds and cattle from H5N1 with “proper biosecurity practices.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented 65 human cases of H5 bird flu in the U.S. as of December 24, nearly all of which it linked to dairy herds and poultry farms in California, Washington state, and Colorado. The agency has also said it is aware of seven “probable cases” across California, Washington, Arizona, and Delaware.

Human infections have largely been mild, but the CDC confirmed the first “severe” case in the U.S. earlier in December. Officials linked that case to backyard poultry, not human-to-human transmission.

On its tracking site, the CDC wrote that the “current public health risk [from bird flu] is low.” Still, the agency is advising people to avoid close contact with wild birds and any infected animals and to stick to pasteurized milk products.