JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A black bear cub in southeast Alaska was euthanized after it turned in poor health with avian influenza, the Alaska Division of Fish and Recreation mentioned.
It's believed that the cub, which was situated in Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay Nationwide Park and Protect west of Juneau, is the second bear recognized with the extremely pathogenic chicken flu, the Juneau Empire reported.
Fowl flu “passes actually simply to poultry, however mammals aren’t actually vulnerable to it,” mentioned Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen, a wildlife veterinarian for the division. “It’s tough to get, however we suspect the cub most likely ate a chicken that died from avian influenza.”
The bear seemingly turned in poor health as a result of it was a small, younger animal with a weak immune system, she mentioned.
Because the virus was first detected in an grownup feminine black bear in Canada in June, Alaska state officers have examined scavenging animals for it. Up to now, it’s solely been present in two different animals, each purple foxes in Dutch Harbor and the western Alaska group of Unalakleet.
Discovering chicken flu within the bear and foxes is just not a sign it’s prone to unfold to different animals or to folks, Beckmen mentioned.
“This explicit pressure, persons are just about proof against it,” she mentioned.
The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention mentioned this pressure of chicken flu poses a “very low” danger to people, and just one particular person within the U.S. has been recognized on this outbreak.
Nevertheless, the flu has hammered the state’s wild chicken inhabitants.
Folks in Glacier Bay final month observed that the cub, one in all three accompanying a sow, had problem strolling, in response to state wildlife officers.
The sow deserted the cub and a biologist picked it up. Nevertheless, it started struggling seizures, as did the Canadian bear beforehand recognized with the sickness. The Alaska bear was euthanized by a state biologist. Later testing confirmed the presence of the virus that causes extremely pathogenic avian influenza.
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