LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — William Stowers, a resident of Owosso, is frightened about chook flu spreading to people, however when he first noticed useless geese alongside the Shiawassee River, he did not consider chook flu.
“We thought it was the cold snap we had at the beginning of the week, and, as the weather started to break, we figured they were getting poisoned or somebody was killing them,” says Stowers.
Now the DNR says the die-off was seemingly brought on by avian influenza, and Stowers is frightened for animals and folks alike. He even stated he is seen kids carrying the useless geese. “Just a sickness going around that could affect other animals, or even us, y’know handling, I did see kids picking them up to bury them…” stated Stowers.
(WLNS)
Kimberly Dodd, dean of Michigan State College’s School of Veterinary Drugs warned in opposition to touching contaminated animals and says that individuals can contract the illness.
“Animals that are infected with and especially those that may have died from the virus, likely contain a lot of virus, and so handling dead animals is a potential risk factor…” stated Dodd “keeping one’s distance from those birds and animals is very important…”
Vets say that home animals are additionally in danger.
“We have seen mortality in cats that have consumed wild birds or those that have consumed contaminated milk from infected cows…” stated Dodd.
As for Stowers, he stated he does not wish to take any probabilities together with his personal cats.
“They’re part of the family,” says Stowers. “I mean we’re gonna try to put them away or lock them up somewhere just so they don’t until they figure out what it is that’s actually going on.”
