Two dead vultures were picked up in Eureka Springs recently and checked for avian influenza, also known as bird flu, after an outbreak at a Madison County chicken house. Seven hundred black vultures at Noah’s Arc animal sanctuary in Georgia died recentlyfrom the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu.
Eureka Springs has a large population of black and brown vultures that roost near Harmon Park. Some are migratory and go north in the winter yet have recently started returning. The two dead vultures in Eureka Springs tested negative for bird flu, USDA Wildlife Service State Director Robert Byrd said.
“We have not detected avian influenza in any wild bird in Arkansas as of yet,” Byrd said. “There have been cases in other states.”
There have been complaints from homeowners about the vultures for many years. Excrement can foul yards, cars and houses, kill the trees where they roost, and pollute streams and springs. Vultures also like to rip off rubber weather stripping and shingles.
Byrd spoke at the Eureka Springs City Council meeting in March to discuss possible solutions to the growing population of black vultures in the area. Vultures are a protected species that prevents them being killed except by permit. Methods that Byrd discussed for modifying vulture roosting habitat included sprinkler systems, removal of dead trees, and what he described as “fancy fireworks” to disturb vultures with loud noise as they roost. There have been noise complaints from homeowners when firecrackers were used in Eureka Springs in the past.
Byrd said the cheapest option would be to hang an effigy where the birds roost to deter them, hanging a dead vulture upside down so that the birds can see it. He said that the most common effigy was to have a hybrid of a fake vulture with real bird components, specifically wings. Byrd said that the wildlife service would be able to assist the city with the permit process, as well as provide the wings. He said that the service keeps vultures that may have died during wildlife rehabilitation for this purpose.
Regarding the outbreak in Madison County, state and federal authorities worked on a joint incident response that involved quarantining the affected premises and killing birds on the property to prevent the spread of the disease.
“I can confirm that there has been just one case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Madison County to date in 2022,” Lyndsay Cole of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said. “The facility had approximately 56,000 birds. USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories conducts confirmatory testing on each sample to determine if the strains match the Eurasian lineage H5N1 virus that has been spreading across the U.S. this year. More than 80 percent of cases across the U.S. can be attributed to wild bird introductions (wild birds carrying the virus to commercial or backyard domestic birds).”
Cole wrote in an email that they maintain a map of all findings in commercial and backyard birds, as well as the flock sizes, on their website.
Additionally, they conduct HPAI surveillance across the U.S. and maintain a chart listing positive samples.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the public health risk associated with avian influenza in birds remains low, but meat from infected flocks do not enter the food system.
As a general safety recommendation that can prevent problems such a salmonella contamination, it is recommended that all poultry and eggs be heated to an internal temperature of 165˚ before being consumed.
Additional surveillance and testing are being done in areas around the affected flocks. The USDA states that the U.S. has the most active avian influenza surveillance program in the world and is working with its partners to actively look for disease in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets, and in migratory wild bird populations.
The USDA recommends anyone involved with poultry production from the small backyard to the large commercial producer should review their biosecurity activities to assure the health of their birds. APHIS has materials about biosecurity, including videos, checklists, and a toolkit available at aphis.usda.gov.
In addition to practicing good biosecurity, all bird owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds, and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to state/federal officials, either through their state veterinarian or through APHIS’ toll-free number at (866) 536-7593.