The authorities issued a warning after 60 birds were found dead with suspected avian flu
Plymouth, Massachusetts officials are warning the public that more than 60 birds found dead in Billings Beach on Sunday may have died of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu.
On Sunday morning, members of Clean Harbor Waste Management, contracted by the state Department of Environmental Protection, as well as state officials responded to Billington Beach to remove several geese, swans and other dead wildlife from the pond.
A day earlier, the state ornithologist told city officials that a goose removed from Plymouth is “highly suspected” of avian influenza, or bird flu.
Because there is only one lab in the U.S. that can officially test for bird flu, it could take up to a week to get a definitive answer, officials said.
When bird flu spreads, the CDC recommends quick ‘containment’ to contain more cases.
(Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Image/File)
Still, state officials said they will begin testing the birds removed from Billington Bay to determine their official cause of death.
State and local officials have advised the public to avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds and other animals that may be infected with the avian influenza virus, and to wear protective equipment if handling wild animals cannot be avoided.
Bird flu can be spread through direct contact between birds, so poultry farmers should also be careful.
Louisiana has reported its first bird flu-related human death
A pair of influenza A (H5N1) viruses, a type of bird flu virus (Cynthia Goldsmith, Jackie Katz/CDC via AP/File)
“Poultry owners should keep their birds away from wild waterfowl, limit the number of people entering your flock and clean and disinfect between areas if you share equipment with other bird owners,” said Plymouth Public Health Director Karen Keen.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says handling infected birds can lead to disease in humans. However, since 2022, 67 people have been infected with bird flu, and 66 of these have occurred in 2024.
One state leads the country with nearly 40 cases of human bird flu
In fact, as bird flu cases continue to occur across the US, safety precautions are increasing
On Thursday, the CDC announced its recommendation to more quickly and thoroughly screen hospitalized influenza A patients for differences between seasonal flu and bird flu.
Accelerated influenza A “subtyping” in hospitalized patients is a response to “sporadic human infection” of avian influenza, the CDC wrote in a press release.
The goal is to prevent delays in identifying bird flu cases and promote better patient care, “timely infection control” and case investigation, the agency said.
Click here to access the FOX NEWS app
These delays occur during flu season because of the high number of patients, according to the CDC.
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.
