by Buckrail @ RiverApril 25, 2023

Bird flu ‘not a major concern’ after lion tests positive

JACKSON, Wyo. — In early April, a young mountain lion carcass found by a local Jackson Hole wildlife guide was confirmed by a brain PCR test to have died from avian influenza.

Avian influenza is also commonly referred to as bird flu, or H5N1.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines bird flu as a virus that naturally spreads among wild aquatic birds and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species as well. Infected birds can shed avian influenza in their saliva, nasal secretions and feces. Both wild mammals and domesticated pets can become infected by eating dead infected birds or being in an environment contaminated with the virus.

Bird flu viruses do not normally infect humans, but the CDC has reported sporadic human infections with bird flu viruses ranging in severity from mild with no symptoms to severe resulting in death.

Despite the diagnosis and the potential for exposure, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) is not considering bird flu a major concern yet.

“It’s definitely still on our radar,” said Mark Gocke, public information specialist at WGFD. “We’re still continuing to monitor to see what the prevalence of it is.”

According to Jessica Jennings-Gaines, WGFD wildlife disease specialist, while there were dead geese reportedly in the area that the mountain lion was found, it’s still uncertain exactly how the cat was exposed. Some mammals appear to be more susceptible, but the low sample size has made it difficult to fully understand how the disease will impact Wyoming wildlife as a whole.

“We’re still trying to understand how this new strain of avian flu is going to affect different animals,” Jennings-Gaines said. “It’s hard to say for the state if this will be a big concern.”

But this case serves as a reminder that the bird flu is something that is present on the local landscape. While there are many big game carcasses to be found after the long, hard winter that Wyoming has seen, finding something like a dead mountain lion or a number of dead birds should be reported to WGFD.

“Anything that’s unusual, birds and things that you don’t typically see, we’d love to hear about and investigate that,” Gocke said.