Bird Flu Reaches Oswego County with Reports of Dead Geese
OSWEGO, NY – It’s driving up the price of eggs, and now the disease responsible for the deaths of thousands of chickens has made its way to Oswego County.
It’s commonly known as bird flu and it is now killing geese in the Oswego region.
In the Village of Phoenix it’s common to find geese by the Oswego River. But lately, more residents of the village have been finding dead geese.
Mayor Brian Borchk spoke about the sudden rise in geese deaths. “The last two weeks I can walk out to the river and find a handful of them at any given moment.”
After testing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dead geese were found to be positive for the avian flu.
The bird flu can be contracted by contact with sick birds. Symptoms of the bird flu include a cough, fever, sore throat, muscle aches, headache, and shortness of breath.
“When a person catches the bird flu, it’s like catching the regular flu,“ Mayor Borchk added. “It can take you a week or two weeks or three weeks to get better from it, and it’s all the same symptoms.”
The disease can also infect other animals like dogs and other household pets if they come into contact with an infected bird.
Mayor Borchk provided further insight into the transfer of avain flu onto other animals.
“We can also catch it from these birds so going from a pet to a person or from a person by directly touching one and not being properly protected, so that’s a big concern going from the birds to the people.”
The Oswego County Health Department provided Oswego Now with a statement.
“While the risk to public health is low, the Oswego County Health Department reminds residents to follow safe, sanitary practices to avoid infection.”
With spring approaching and more birds beginning to migrate north, health officials say we are likely to see an increase in bird flu cases.
If you see any dead geese, please take precautions when approaching them. Be sure to wear gloves and a face mask to decrease the risk of contamination.