There’s been an uptick in the number of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) cases in migratory birds in the Kansas City area.
Jacqui Blessington, director of the Lakeside Nature Center in Kansas City, told Missourinet that it does not have an exact number of cases yet.
“Our cases right now are ‘guess-timated’ to be a couple of dozen, but we’re waiting on testing,” she said. “We’re assuming there’s a lot of positivity on the ones we’ve sent, but we’re still waiting on final confirmation.”
Missouri Department. of Conservation agent Jobe Edwards told Missourinet that there are currently 63 suspected cases of HPAI in Jackson County, 16 suspected in Clay County, and one confirmed case and one suspected case in Platte County.
Blessington, meanwhile, said that HPAI has never really gone away since returning to Missouri in 2021 and will likely stick around permanently, though infection rates will cycle between high and low as seasons change.
“The cases are definitely on the uptick now and over the last couple of weeks,” she said. “At this point this year and last year it could have been maybe half a dozen or a few more. But the calls we get in are always a lot more.”
She described the signs of a bird infected with HPAI.
“(If) they’re just like in your yard with no other birds, nowhere near water – that is suspicious in and of itself,” she said. “If you see wild geese and ducks that are just like by themselves – sitting and not trying to move or fly away – that is an area of concern.”
She also said it’s concerning if they have balance issues or if they let you approach them, a warning echoed by MDC Conservation Agent Edwards. He said they won’t be super active.
“You’ll probably see some lethargy; it’s going to be to itself, tucked away, not a lot of movement coming from it,” Edwards said. “If we are seeing what we think is (a) suspected avian influenza case, don’t touch it.”
But if you feel the need to intervene somewhere, take precautions.
“Masks,” Edwards said. “Wear gloves, face protection, and then make sure we’re washing our hands very thoroughly. And if you’re going to take possession, double bag it. But even then, if we’re double bagging stuff, it’s still not always 100% (safe). So we tell people use extreme caution on that.”
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