Hundreds of snow geese have been found dead in the Lehigh Valley, with preliminary testing indicating the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). This news highlights the ongoing threat of bird flu, which can affect a wide range of animals, including poultry, raptors, and scavengers.
As many as 38,500 snow geese were spotted Feb. 18, 2022, at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area on the Lancaster-Lebanon County line at Kleinfeltersville. Each year tens of thousands of the migrating waterfowl pass through southeastern Pennsylvania between January and April, according to the Game Commission, which says wild waterfowl and shorebirds are considered natural reservoirs for avian influenza viruses.
This past week brought a stark reminder to the Lehigh Valley that the bird flu circulating around the globe is endangering fowl and mammal alike. The good news despite the deaths of hundreds of snow geese suspected to have been caused by the avian influenza is that theA field or pond pocked with the white of thousands of snow geese, or a seeming unending stream of them flying overhead, is an exciting and relatively common sight in the Lehigh Valley.“Wild waterfowl and shorebirds are considered natural reservoirs for avian influenza viruses,” the Pennsylvania Game Commission said Thursday. Preliminary testing shows avian influenza is suspected to have caused the deaths of about 200 snow geese found Monday in the Lehigh Valley, the commission announced. “While infected birds may shed the virus in their feces and saliva despite appearing healthy, HPAI can lead to sickness or death in raptors (hawks, eagles), avian scavengers (crows, gulls, ravens), other waterfowl species (ducks, geese), and wild poultry (turkey, grouse),” commission officials continued in a Preliminary in-state testing indicated the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in the dead birds recovered from sites in Lower Nazareth and Upper Macungie townships. This is not the first time this Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been found in the Lehigh Valley. It was previously confirmed in wild birds, commercial turkeys and a red fo
Avian Influenza Bird Flu Snow Geese Lehigh Valley HPAI
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