The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says Avian Influenza or bird flu has spread into more parishes in Louisiana. Dr. Jim LaCour, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries wildlife veterinarian, said the virus travels with infected birds.
“Now with the migration of the birds south it has finally reached Louisiana after the better part of a year,”
He says his staff is sampling birds to keep track of the virus and have found it spreading in the state. He says birds from Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Morehouse, Ouachita, and Richland parishes have tested positive. He says geese, pelicans, eagles, hawks, and vultures, have tested positive—and domestic poultry is highly vulnerable.
LaCour says the CDC considers the virus to be low risk to humans, but hunters who are exposed to areas, such as flooded fields, where they could come into contact with it ought to be especially careful.
“If they have chickens or turkeys at their homes they can bring this virus back to their poultry and the virus can kill the poultry,” LaCour said.
LaCour says hunters keep their hunting clothes away from their other clothes until they get a chance to wash them in extremely hot water because the virus thrives in cold water. He says he expects it to keep spreading until it reaches a peak in the spring and then subsides.
“This is a cyclic event. It’s not the first time it’s happened and it probably won’t be the last time,” LaCour said.
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