A bald eagle found standing on a DuPage County street has been euthanized after it was determined the animal was suffering from bird flu.
According to a statement from Forest Preserves of DuPage County, the bird was brought to the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center after it was found standing on a street in suburban Hinsdale.
According to officials, the eagle was showing “clinical signs of bird flu infection,” and veterinarians were forced to euthanize the bird.
Nearly 11,000 wild birds have been diagnosed with bird flu during the current outbreak, with millions of poultry affected by the virus, according to officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Humans rarely contract the illness, but can if they have prolonged or close contact with infected birds or animals, according to CDC data.
Wild bards can spread the illness to poultry like chickens and turkeys, and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza is fatal in more than 95% of poultry cases, according to statistics from the CDC.
Most wild birds infected with the virus don’t show initial symptoms, but those that do typically display a tilted head and a lack of coordination when walking or flying, according to the Mississippi Board of Animal Health.
Local
People are urged not to come into direct contact with sick or dead wild birds, and to always use gloves or an inside-out plastic bag when handling bird carcasses.
There have been a total of 66 cases of bird flu reported in humans in the United States, including 37 in the state of California. One person in Louisiana died as a result of infection with the virus, according to CDC data.
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