Plymouth, MAOfficials warned the public on Sunday that more than 60 birds found dead in the Billington Sea are believed to have died of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu.
On Sunday morning, members of Clean Harbor Waste Management, who were contracted by the Department of Environmental Protection, as well as state officials, responded to Billington Sea to find numerous geese, swans and other dead game from the pond.
The day before, the state ornithologist told city officials that a dead goose removed from Plymouth was “highly suspected” of bird flu.
Since 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 for a definitive answer, officials said.
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(REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File)
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 advised the public to avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds and other animals that may be infected with bird flu viruses, and to wear protective equipment if handling wild animals cannot be avoided.
Those who keep poultry should also take precautions as bird flu can 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 between locations,” said Plymouth Public Health Director Karen Keane .
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says handling infected birds is unlikely to lead to illness in humans. However, since 2022, 67 human cases of bird flu have occurred, 66 of which occurred in 2024.
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In fact, safety measures continue to increase as cases of bird flu continue to emerge in the US
On Thursday, the CDC announced its recommendation to test hospitalized influenza A patients more quickly and thoroughly to distinguish between seasonal flu and bird flu.
The accelerated “subtyping” of influenza A in hospitalized patients is a response to “sporadic human infections” of bird flu, the CDC wrote in a news release.
The aim is to avoid delays in identifying bird flu infections and promote better patient care, “timely infection control” and case investigation, the agency said.
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According to the CDC, these delays are more likely to occur during flu season due to the high volume of patients.
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.
