Plymouth, Massachusettsofficials warned the public Sunday that more than 60 birds found dead in Billington Sea are suspected to have died of highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu.
On Sunday morning, members of Clean Harbor Waste Management, hired by the state Department of Environmental Protection, as well as state officials, responded to Billington Sea to remove numerous geese, swans and other dead pond wildlife.
The day before, a state ornithologist told city officials that a dead goose removed from Plymouth was “highly suspected” to have bird flu or bird flu.
Because there is only one laboratory in the U.S. that can officially confirm a positive case of bird flu, it could take up to a week to get a definitive answer, officials said.
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(REUTERS/Dado Ruvić/Illustration/Photograph)
Still, state officials say they will begin testing the birds removed from the Billington Sea to determine their official cause of death.
State and local officials have advised citizens to avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds and other animals that may be infected with avian influenza viruses and to wear protective equipment if handling wild animals cannot be avoided.
Poultry farmers should also take precautions as bird flu can be spread through direct contact between birds.
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A pair of influenza A (H5N1) virions, a type of bird flu virus (Cynthia Goldsmith, Jackie Katz/CDC via AP/File)
“Poultry owners should keep their birds away from wild waterfowl, limit the number of people who have access to your flock, and if you share equipment with other bird owners, clean and disinfect areas,” said Plymouth Public Health Director Karen Keane.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that handling infected birds is unlikely to lead to illness in humans. However, since 2022, there have been 67 human cases of bird flu, and 66 of those cases occurred in 2024.
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In fact, safety precautions continue to increase as bird flu cases continue to surface across the US
On Thursday, the CDC released its recommendation that hospitalized patients with influenza A be tested more quickly and thoroughly to distinguish between seasonal flu and bird flu.
The rapid “subtyping” of influenza A in hospitalized patients is in response to “sporadic human infections” with bird flu, the CDC wrote in a news release.
The goal is to prevent delays in identifying bird flu infections and promote better patient care, “timely infection control” and case investigation, the agency said.
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These delays are more likely to occur during flu season due to the high volume of patients, according to the CDC.
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.
