With an avian flu outbreak suspected of killing up to 1,000 birds throughout Massachusetts, Island towns are warning residents to be cautious if they come across dead or sick birds.
There have been no confirmed cases of avian flu, also called bird flu, on Martha’s Vineyard, but local health officials are informing the public to be aware.
“That doesn’t mean it’s not close by, hence the precaution for seabirds, or a group of dead or sick birds,” Tisbury health agent Drew Belsky said.
Wildlife officials say between 500 and 1,000 bird deaths in the state are believed to have been caused by avian flu, primarily in the Boston and South Shore areas.
Massachusetts has dealt with recurring incidents of avian flu — specifically highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI) H5N1 virus — since 2022, and the recent outbreak started at Billington Sea in Plymouth, with the death of 60 Canada geese, swans, and ducks. The Plymouth Independent reported that a free-roaming flock of 30 chickens in a nearby yard were also euthanized as a part of the cleanup process.
Smaller outbreaks have also been reported in other parts of Massachusetts, and state health officials have advised people to keep themselves and pets away from dead or sick birds.
Belsky said Vineyard health officials are observing state guidelines, and keeping an eye out for large shorebird deaths, or groups of five or more dead and sick birds. “We haven’t heard of anything like that just yet,” he said.
However, Aquinnah health agent Marina Lent said despite a lack of bird deaths, no active testing on Martha’s Vineyard makes it less certain whether the virus is on the Island.
While there have been some recent social media posts of dead birds on the Island — usually one or two birds — from Vineyarders concerned about avian flu, Island naturalist Matthew Pelikan underscored that bird deaths are not new, and can happen for numerous reasons.
“There can even be large mortality events in winter if a food supply crashes, or really cold weather catches a lot of birds that aren’t equipped to handle it,” he said in an email. “People should also be cautious about jumping to conclusions or spreading dubious information just because they’ve found a single dead bird (or even several dead birds), which might or might not reflect avian flu.”
Still, Pelikan said Islanders are right to be concerned, and cautious about handling dead birds. He expects it is “virtually certain” the avian flu will turn up on the Island eventually, since it seems to be spread through migratory birds, “which we get in large numbers.”
Outbreaks of avian flu have occurred in various parts of the country, including commercial farms, but human infections have been rare. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 67 human cases of avian flu since 2024, with the first death occurring in early January in Louisiana.
And health officials are hoping to keep it that way.
“What they are trying to avoid now with this bird flu is for the flu to mutate, transmit easily from human to human,” Lent told The Times.
Lent said one reason people have been warned against handling dead birds is a fear that the virus could undergo a mutation that makes it more easily transmissible to humans, which could lead to a pandemic. “That’s what we’re desperately trying to avoid,” she said.
Nearby Cape Cod is also wary of the virus, issuing a warning to its residents.
“It’s important that residents know to avoid contact with sick or dead birds,” Lea Hamner, contract epidemiologist for Barnstable County, said in the advisory. “Anyone who believes they may have been exposed to an infected bird should monitor themselves closely for symptoms of avian bird flu for 10 days; if symptoms develop, a doctor should be notified of the exposure and perform an evaluation for potential avian influenza.”
Lent said those who handle animals have higher exposure risk, so poultry owners should be watchful of their flock’s health, and minimize their domestic birds’ contact with wild birds. If the domestic birds get sick, people should report it to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. If needed, Lent said, N95 masks are available at town halls, and owners should wear gloves if they need to handle birds.
Dead or sick wild birds can be reported to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife at mass.gov/forms/report-observations-of-dead-wild-birds.
Dead or sick domestic birds can be reported to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources at mass.gov/forms/poultry-disease-reporting-form.
For more information about the virus, visit Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ avian influenza page, and the full, updated state avian flu guidance at bit.ly/4jx9SOV.
If you go to plymouthindependant.org there are several articles about the avian flu outbreak going on in Plymouth now. Our island veterinarian, Michelle Jasny, has a very good article about avian flu in this week’s 1/30/25 MV Times.
We don’t need another fear campaign. For information about the avian flu in Massachusetts, check the mass.gov website: mass.gov/info-details/avian-flu
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