Turkeys found dead in Edgartown this month have been designated as preliminary positive cases of bird flu, the first official indication of the disease’s presence on Martha’s Vineyard.
Brice Boutot, the health agent in Edgartown, told The Times that advice for the public regarding bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, remains the same — people should avoid diseased birds, and protect their own animals from exposure.
MassWildlife officials announced results on Friday for samples from the approximately 20 turkeys, which were found dead early this month in the Smith Hollow neighborhood. The department has also designated a blue jay found dead in Edgartown as a preliminary positive, Boutot said on Friday.
The birds will be further tested by federal officials; those results could take weeks to come in.
Boutot also told The Times that 10 more turkeys from the same flock have died since the first grouping was found dead.
The release states that there have been no cases of the disease in humans in Massachusetts, and that humans are at minimal risk of infection if they do not engage in direct contact with infected animals. It also listed advice for people in order to limit the disease’s impact.
The public should report any sick or dead poultry to mass.gov/reportpoultry, the release states.
It also states that people should keep their backyard poultry flocks inside, to limit exposure to wild birds, and should change standing water daily. The release also states that the public should not feed wild birds, and should remove birdfeeders, birdbaths, and other conditions that encourage wild birds to congregate.
People should keep their cats indoors, as the disease can be fatal to them, the release states. Dogs should be leashed, and not allowed to interact with sick or dead birds.
How do you protect your animals when the yard is loaded with turkey droppings. they are over 50 birds nesting in the trees. there is no way to keep up with it. PLEASE something needs to be done.
Interesting…that’s similar to what the turkeys have been saying for years about the humans 😉
“The birds will be further tested by federal officials, results from which could take weeks to come in.”—- Weeks ? Come on– has anybody noticed what is going on in the federal government ? Spending money on controlling infectious diseases like this has been slashed. Experienced scientist who think we should prepare for what is nearly inevitable,– a bird flu pandemic– and new employees– I won’t even get into the DEI B.S — who are learning how to be the protectors of our society’s health in the future are being fired by the thousands. Good luck to us if we ever hear back about what caused the deaths of these turkeys– I’m sure some people couldn’t care less about what killed these birds, and think the scientist who are concerned about “bird flu” are as “stupid” as the turkeys. May the Flying Spaghetti Monster have mercy on us.
And just in case anyone is wondering, Just because the FSM can fly does not mean that He is a bird. He’s a blob of spaghetti that has the unusual ability to fly.
They presume…
Thank you MV times for staying on this story. I live in Tisbury and also have the same problem of flocks of turkey roosting in my back yard (I live in a densely populated area) and masses of turkey droppings both in my back yard and on sidewalks. I am hoping the town island health agents can collaborate to address this potential health risk and get a county-wide emergency waiver to address the Vineyard’s population of feral turkeys (not part of the Mass Wildlife re-wilding efforts.)
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