Ireland : Please report any dead birds found

What avian influenza (bird flu) is ?

Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a contagious and often fatal viral disease of birds. There is a constant risk of avian influenza being introduced into Ireland from wild birds particularly from October onwards each year as this is when migratory birds arrive and congregate on wetlands, mixing with resident species. Avian influenza can affect many different types of birds including domesticated birds such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and other fowl.

There are two types of avian influenza which are named according to the impact that the disease can have on birds:

• highly pathogenic avian influenza: can have up to 100 % mortality in affected flocks
• low pathogenic avian influenza: generally causes mild disease in affected birds

Testing of these birds help us to understand where the disease is currently circulating and in what types of bird. Not all birds will be collected for sampling

Avian influenza hotline: (01) 6072512 or (01) 4928026 (outside office hours) Learn more at: http://gov.ie/birdflu

Please let us know if you find:

• 1 or more birds of prey, including owls
• 3 or more dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or seagulls
• 5 or more dead birds of any species

#Birdflu update

Please let us know if you find:

🦉1 or more birds of prey, including owls

🦆🦢🦆3 or more dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or seagulls

🐦🦅🪶🕊️🦜5 or more dead birds of any species pic.twitter.com/fPZqHd2sTu

— Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (@agriculture_ie) July 28, 2022

How avian influenza spreads

The Avian influenza virus can spread in several different ways. Direct contact with other infected domestic or wild birds is the biggest risk factor for the spread of the disease. Other methods of disease spread include contamination of feed, bedding, equipment and vehicles with infected bird droppings or other material such as respiratory fluid. The virus can also be spread by people through contaminated clothing and footwear and insufficient hand hygiene practices.

Vermin or wild birds gaining access to poultry houses, feed or bedding storage areas can also lead to spread of disease. The disease has been reported on rare occasions in other animals including seals and foxes.

Good biosecurity is essential for the prevention of avian influenza in poultry and captive birds.

The signs of avian influenza

The main clinical signs of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in birds are:

• swollen head
• blue discoloration of the head, comb, wattles (cyanosis)
• loss of appetite
• difficulty breathing (gaping beak, coughing, sneezing, rales, gurgling)
• diarrhoea
• fewer eggs laid or eggs with watery whites
• increased mortality

Clinical signs can vary between species of birds. Chickens and turkeys can be severely affected with high mortality rates while other species (for example: ducks and geese) may show minimal clinical signs.

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