JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says bird flu may be to blame after more than two dozen geese and ducks were found dead in a St. Johns County neighborhood last month.
FWC confirmed to First Coast News that a Muscovy duck and a Canada goose sent for testing came back preliminarily positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
The birds were found dead in the Beachwalk community in October. Pest control and wildlife removal company, Quick Catch, told First Coast News that the situation involves an ongoing investigation with the FWC.
The CDC says HPAI occurs mainly in birds, is highly contagious (among birds) and can be deadly.
This year’s avian influenza outbreak is the worst the United States has experienced since 2015, according to the New York Times.
Bryan Richards, the emerging disease coordinator at the National Wildlife Health Center, tells the NYT that his year’s is "more wide-ranging, spreading to almost every state, and is having a much greater effect on wild birds."
The CDC saus the risk to people from this virus is low, as bird flu viruses spread mostly among wild birds and poultry, and do not normally infect people or spread from person to person.
FWC is monitoring for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in birds found sick or dead of unknown causes.