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Highly Pathogenic Bird Flu Detected In New York's Wild Birds, DEC Says

State officials are cautioning about a new wave of bird flu that is being reported across New York.

State officials are cautioning about a new wave of bird flu that is being reported across New York.

State officials are cautioning about a new wave of bird flu that is being reported across New York.

 Photo Credit: Photo by Gauravdeep Singh Bansal on Unsplash
Zak Failla
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The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus has been detected in multiple wild bird species in several areas of the state.

While cases have been reported in birds statewide, there have been no known HPAI human infections documented in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the new cases in New York “do not present an immediate public concern.”

DEC cautioned that HPAI outbreaks in wild birds are cyclical and tied to their migration patterns when concentrated in higher numbers.

According to DEC, HPAI is caused by a virus carried by free-flying wild birds such as ducks, geese, gulls, and shorebirds.

The most recent HPAI strain is believed to have come from Europe, where it has been spreading since 2020 before coming to North America in 2021, according to DEC

The first case of the European HPAI strain was reported in Suffolk County on Long Island in a domestic flock. It has spread north since then.

As of Friday, April 22, HPAI has been found in captive chickens, pheasants, and ducks in these counties:

  • Dutchess;
  • Ulster;
  • Monroe;
  • Fulton.

HPAI was also detected in wild birds in these New York counties:

  • Cayuga;
  • Clinton;
  • Montgomery;
  • Monroe;
  • Onondaga;
  • Seneca;
  • Suffolk;
  • Nassau;
  • Livingston;
  • Wayne.

Wild birds include: snow geese, Canada geese, tundra swan, mute swan, sanderling, mallard duck, redhead duck, ring-necked duck, wood duck, hooded merganser, great blue heron, bald eagles, great horned owls, snowy owl, cooper's hawk, red-tailed hawk, fish crow, and turkey vulture.


“Generally, influenza viruses can infect some wildlife species without causing signs of disease, but new strains can emerge that cause illness with high mortality in both wild birds and domestic poultry,” DEC officials noted. “These strains are designated as highly pathogenic, or HPAI. HPAI outbreaks in wild birds are often cyclical and tied to migration when birds are concentrated in large numbers.

“As birds spread out on the landscape during the nesting season, disease transmission is expected to decrease."

While there is no immediate public health risk, the public has been advised to report dead birds to DEC regional tracking offices to monitor the spread of HPAI. 

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