A black bear cub in Southeast Alaska was euthanized after it became ill with avian influenza, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said.
JUNEAU —
It is believed that the cub, which was located in Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve west of Juneau, is the second bear diagnosed with the highly pathogenic bird flu, the Bird flu “passes really easily to poultry, but mammals aren’t really susceptible to it,” said Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen, a wildlife veterinarian for the department. “It’s difficult to get, but we suspect the cub probably ate a bird that died from avian influenza.
Finding bird flu in the bear and foxes is not an indication it’s likely to spread to other animals or to people, Beckmen said.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this strain of bird flu poses a “very low” risk to humans, and only one person in the U.S. has been diagnosed in this outbreak.People in Glacier Bay last month noticed that the cub, one of three accompanying a sow, had difficulty walking, according to state wildlife officials.
The sow abandoned the cub and a biologist picked it up. However, it began suffering seizures, as did the Canadian bear previously diagnosed with the illness. The Alaska bear was euthanized by a state biologist. Later testing confirmed the presence of the virus that causes highly pathogenic avian influenza.
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