Bird Flu could be the next big pandemic
By Colleen Cronin / ecoRI News staff
This time of year isn’t supposed to be busy for Sheida
Soleimani, the powerhouse artist, professor, and animal rehabilitator.
Owl recently rescued by Charlestown Police is
recovering at Congress of the Birds.
CPD photo
It’s not baby bird season, Soleimani explained, the time of
year when worried good Samaritans swamp her clinic, Congress of the Birds, with calls about
potentially failing fledglings.
But that rush is a few months away. Winter is a relatively
quiet season, and Soleimani said she usually gets one or two calls on an
average day. But this year, her phone is buzzing 15 to 20 times daily.
“The amount of birds that I’m getting calls about on a daily
basis has really just gone up exponentially,” she said.
Most of the calls are about cases of bird flu, Soleimani
told ecoRI News, or at least about birds who appear to be infected with the
disease that has killed millions of animals around the country, including a
flock in southern Rhode Island last month.
“What we are seeing is mass mortalities,” Soleimani said.
“They’re falling out of the sky dying.”
H1N5, the most common strain of the avian
influenza hitting the country right now, is a “highly pathogenic avian
influenza” that popped up in the United States probably somewhere in late 2021,
according to Scott Marshall, the Department of Environmental Management’s state
veterinarian and Division of Agriculture deputy chief. It’s hitting domestic
birds, wild flocks, and some mammals.
In birds, the disease is almost certainly fatal, said
Marshall, explaining that a commercial poultry farmer could have a perfectly
healthy flock in the morning, and by the afternoon, 10% to 20% of the birds
could be dead.
Animals such as foxes and house cats have also died from the disease, but the virus seems to be more mild in other mammals, such as humans and cows, according to Marshall. One human has died in the United States from the recent H1N5 outbreak.
This strain of bird flu spreads through bodily fluids and
can be tracked and moved around on fomites — inanimate objects such as shoes
and clothing — but not through the air (the way coronavirus spreads). The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that bird flu is not yet
transmitted from person to person, which Marshall said means the people most at
risk are those who work directly with animals.
Farmers can actually request free personal protective
equipment through a form online to
help protect themselves and their workers from the virus.
When H1N5 is suspected in a flock, DEM or the U.S.
Department of Agriculture tests the animals. If the virus is detected in
commercial flocks, the entire flock must be euthanized, but Marshall said
case-by-case exceptions can be made for non-commercial flocks, which would have
to be quarantined for 120 days rather than depopulated.
There is a program through the USDA to voluntarily test
birds, even if a flock is not exhibiting symptoms, “but what you have to keep
in mind is that’s just, you know, one snapshot,” Marshall said. “Your birds
could be tested today and get infected tomorrow.”
Domestic or wild birds and animals with suspected
symptoms can be reported to
DEM through an online form or call. The response for a domestic bird versus a
wild bird differs.
“While reports of sick or dead wild birds are appreciated
for monitoring activities, not all submissions require a DEM response,” agency
spokesperson Evan LaCross said. “Typically, reports of sick or dead wild birds
near domestic backyard flocks or farms would require testing, but that has not
yet occurred.”
In total, 105 birds and one mammal have been euthanized
because of avian influenza in Rhode Island since the outbreak started, LaCross
told ecoRI News.
The Wildlife Clinic of Rhode Island also
sends samples to Tufts University in Boston for testing. Since the start of
this outbreak in 2022, they’ve had 30 positive tests for bird flu from birds
and an additional positive result from one mammal.
A third of the positive avian flu results have come in just
from the start of 2025.
Soleimani, who works with the wildlife clinic, said some of
her own samples were probably in their batches, but she noted testing for wild
birds functions differently than for domestic animals and has been more
limited. A local veterinarian has been providing Soleimani and others with
swabs, she said.
The signs of infected birds vary. She said she’s seeing
birds that appear drunk, stumbling, trembling, with twisted heads and necks,
eyes closed or weeping fluids. With sea birds, Soleimani said she’s also seeing
respiratory symptoms.
“Do not handle any injured birds without speaking with a
wildlife rehabilitator first,” Soleimani warned. “I have had so many finders
who have picked up birds that are so clearly positive, and touched them and
held them against their faces, and thought they were helping them, and didn’t
know that they should be worried about avian flu.”
Soleimani said no bird should be handled without extensive
PPE: gloves, mask, goggles, even a visor or gown, if available.
Soleimani has been going out into the field to look at birds
that might be positive.
On-site, her clinic has a disinfectant foot bath that
everyone who comes into the space has to use to prevent the flu’s spread, and
disinfectants in general are being used on everything and everywhere, she said.
She said she would like to see a local task force formed to
help fill in gaps in testing and the disposal of dead, infected birds, which
she said could be infecting healthy animals who are opportunistic feeders.
The issue of birds eating other infected birds is being
raised in Plymouth, Mass., where the community has seen an uptick in the virus and
bald eagles and other birds of prey could be at risk. Soleimani said if someone
finds a dead bird and wants to dispose of it, they should wear PPE and
triple-bag the remains.
Both Soleimani and Marshall advised people to exercise
caution. Not every dead or sick bird is infected, but the disease is out in the
population enough to take extra care.
“I don’t think every dead bird is diseased or a vector,”
Soleimani said, “but I think we should be treating all birds with caution at
this point.”
It’s been an exhausting start to the year, Soleimani
acknowledged, and for someone who cares so much about animals, it’s also been
emotionally difficult.
“I’ve never been a person that’s dealt with depression, and
I wouldn’t say I’m depressed but I’m feeling … my psyche is destroyed,”
Soleimani said. “I’m used to seeing animals that are in pain. I’m used to
seeing animals that are dying. But there’s usually something that we can try to
do, but I’m feeling completely helpless.”
She’s concerned about the trajectory of the virus and hopes
people will start learning more about it and taking it seriously.
“For all of us, it’s been really crazy,” Soleimani said,
“and this is just the beginning of it.”
