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Published Jan. 5, 2025, 10:16 p.m. ET67 Comments
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Over 200 snow geese found across Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania are suspected to have been killed by the bird flu, and experts are concerned the death toll could climb even higher as cases continue to skyrocket.
The birds were found at the Lower Nazareth Township in Northhampton County and Upper Macungie Township in Lehigh County, 6ABC reported. The two sites are just over 20 miles apart.
Early testing has identified the H5N1 virus, also known as bird flu, in some of the geese, but the results still need to be ratified by the US Department of Agriculture before they can be officially confirmed as new avian influenza cases.
Infected, but still living birds were also found at both sites.
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“We just hope that these mortality events that we recorded don’t signal something worse is on the way,” Travis Lau, the spokesperson with the Pennsylvania Game Commission that is investigating the cases, told the local ABC affiliate station.
Many birds that catch avian influenza are often humanely euthanized since there is no known cure or treatment for the disease in animals. It often takes less than a day for the disease to kill an infected bird.
“It’s devastating, and to know that other animals are eating those dead bodies, it’s a terrible domino effect. I mean you have eagles. We saw eagles flying above there. They’re feeding on these dead bodies, they’re contracting it,” Janine Tancredi, co-executive director at the Wilderz at Pocono Wildlife, told the news station.
Bird flu cases have been soaring across the country in every animal from the eponymous birds to cows to house cats — and humans have also been infected.
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A total of 66 human cases have been reported nationwide. In 2024, California saw the most cases of any state with 36 confirmed cases resulting from exposure to infected cattle, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California also saw raw milk recalls because of products contaminated by bird flu.
Nearly 11,000 wild birds have been infected with bird flu since January 2022, according to the CDC. A whopping 129,795,101 poultry have been infected since Februrary 2022, and all 50 states have seen outbreaks resulting from infected poultry.
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