Up to 1,000 wild bird deaths reported in Massachusetts due to “widespread” bird flu

Sam Doran

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 29, 2025…..Massachusetts health and environmental agencies on Wednesday offered fresh warnings about “widespread” bird flu suspected of killing wildlife and domestic poultry, asking people to report dead and sick birds and avoid contact with them, and keep cats and domestic birds indoors.

Officials said 500 to 1,000 wild bird deaths had been reported around the state, as well as a 30-bird flock of domestic poultry in Plymouth County. The wild birds are tough to estimate, according to state ornithologist Andrew Vitz of MassWildlife, because some go unreported, and others are reported more than once.

“Surveillance testing of individual dead birds indicates the virus is widespread in the state among our wild water birds,” Vitz said on a press call with public health and agriculture officials.

Cases are mostly located from Greater Boston down to southeast Massachusetts, with “lower numbers” in central Massachusetts and the Connecticut River Valley, he said. 

Officials said risk to humans remains low, but the state’s public health veterinarian said pet cats are “very susceptible” to the bird flu and can become “seriously ill.”

“While there have not been any cases of people getting infected just through contact with wild birds, DPH is joining our other state agencies in advising people and pets to stay away from sick and dead wild birds,” said Dr. Catherine Brown of DPH, the state epidemiologist.

Last week, state officials said the bird flu outbreak was likely responsible for the deaths of more than 60 Canada geese, swans and other birds in Plymouth. Nationwide, Brown said, the flu has struck millions of wild birds, 145 million domestic birds, and 943 herds of dairy cattle.

The current strain of the avian influenza H5N1 virus arrived in the United States in late 2021 and Massachusetts has seen “periodic outbreaks” since then, according to Vitz.

Hundreds of dead bird reports in January indicate the “largest outbreak in terms of the impacts of the number of individual birds and the geographic distribution in the state,” he said. He added that “we’re not sure what’s going on, why we’re seeing this bigger outbreak today.”

The ornithologist added that “some evidence from Southern Ontario indicate cases are now declining.”

As the nation has seen mounting bird flu cases, a trend visible to consumers looking to buy increasingly scarce and expensive eggs, there has been less data flowing from the federal government down to state authorities.

President Donald Trump’s administration on Jan. 21 ordered an “immediate pause” on external communications from U.S. Health and Human Services agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control, the AP reported. The freeze is in place until Feb. 1, a total of less than two weeks.

“While the current pause on certain communication from federal government is disappointing, a two-week pause is unlikely to result in a significant decrease in our ability to understand and track avian flu in Massachusetts,” Brown said.

Brown said DPH has a biweekly meeting about avian flu with other Northeast states that helps “maintain situational awareness.” She added that information-sharing is also aided by professional organizations like the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the Association of Public Health Labs.

Egg prices are skyrocketing around the U.S. because of case spikes at large egg-laying operations. There have not been any cases among commercial flocks in Massachusetts, said Agricultural Commissioner Ashley Randle.

Pasteurization kills the virus, Randle added, so consumers are not seeing an increase in dairy prices, and both dairy and meat products are safe to consume. Massachusetts tests its milk supply for the bird flu and has found 100 percent negative results on licensed dairy farms around the state since last August, she said.

State officials urged people to not touch sick or dead birds, keep pets away from wildlife, and report suspected cases promptly. Wild birds can be reported to MassWildlife at mass.gov/reportbirds. Domestic cases such as chickens can be reported to the the Department of Agricultural Resources at (617) 626-1795 or mass.gov/reportpoultry.

The virus “very rarely” infects humans, Brown said. Across the U.S., 67 people have tested positive and the cases were generally “very mild,” although one person died, she said. There have been no confirmed human cases in Massachusetts.

People with flu-like symptoms, particularly with conjunctivitis, should flag for their doctor if they have been in contact with sick or dead animals. They can also call the Department of Public Health at (617) 983-6800.

“I want to stress that right now, at the Department of Public Health, we feel like awareness is the right approach, as opposed to alarm,” Brown said.