Napa health officials say bird flu found in area, residents should be cautious
NAPA (CBS SF/BCN) – Napa County health officials announced Wednesday that a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu, was recently detected and they reminded the public to avoid direct contact with wild birds.
The viral disease occurs naturally in wild birds and can infect domestic poultry and other animal species as well as humans, according to a county news release.
County officials described the risk to humans as very low for now, but they added a caution though to the public to avoid direct contact with wild birds, especially those that are dead or appear ill. The announcement also included a long list of recommendations for keepers of commercial and domestic flocks of birds.
As of Tuesday, county officials said bird flu has been detected in commercial and domestic bird flocks in Sacramento, Butte, Contra Costa, Tuolumne and Fresno counties, as well as in wild birds in the following thirteen counties: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Mendocino, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus and Yolo County, in addition to Napa County.
