FENNVILLE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials say 77 Canada geese and one mallard at the Fennville Farm Unit at the Allegan State Game Area in Allegan County are among more than 300 wild birds that have died in the state, the victims of bird flu.
Even though the deadly virus is causing the most concern in the agricultural world, where bird flu has ripped through poultry flocks by the millions since the current outbreak took off, DNR officials say the virus is “widespread” in wild flocks.
DNR scientists say serious impacts to overall duck, goose or swan populations aren’t expected in Michigan, but the bird flu has killed “numerous” bald eagles and colony nesting birds like terns and cormorants. They say it’s too early to determine whether the outbreak will mean a large-scale reduction in the populations, but research is ongoing.
Samples from birds collected in Allegan, Shiawassee, Ingham, and Washtenaw counties were tested at the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostics Lab in East Lansing and have been forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Lab in Ames, Iowa for confirmation of bird flu.
The last time the avian flu was so broadly active across the state’s wild populations was 2022, but DNR officials say this latest outbreak is not as severe.
The virus spreads through fecal droppings or nasal discharge of an infected bird,
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