Nome red fox tests positive for avian flu

A red fox hit by a car in Nome last month tested positive for a variant of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPAI.
Sara Henslee, Area Biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said that the fox was brought in after someone hit it with their car driving west of the harbor late at night.
Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen, Lead Veterinarian for ADF&G, said that the fox tested positive for the H5N1 variant of avian flu and negative for rabies.
Beckmen said that there have been avian flu cases detected throughout the state all winter, but this is the first one detected on the Seward Peninsula in the last six months. “I know there are more, because the fox had to have eaten something,” she said. “It’s probably inevitable, so just be cautious, and it’s probable there will be more [cases].”
Beckmen said it’s important to be cautious, but not to panic. “We got through this really big [avian flu] outbreak in 2023 and we didn’t have any human cases in Alaska,” she said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s mammal avian flu webpage, 13 mammals testing positive for the bird flu have been reported in Alaska since 2022. In June of 2022, the avian flu was found in a Nome red fox. Cases have been reported from the Aleutians, Kodiak, Juneau and the North Slope in red and arctic foxes, ermines, two polar bears and black and brown bears. “Many species are potentially susceptible to highly pathogenic avian influenza,” the USDA website says. “In addition to birds and poultry, H5N1 viruses have been detected in some mammals. Infection may cause illness, including severe disease and death in some cases.”
In addition to the cases on the USDA dashboard, Beckmen said there have been more bird and mammal cases that have not been posted on the website yet. It can take several months for cases that have tested positive for HPAI to end up on the USDA dashboard. “I had cases in ravens on the Haul Road last fall. I know of three polar bears that were detected that were positive. There were ravens in southeast Alaska that were positive. I had eagles here in the Interior,” she said.
“We collect the sample of the brain and we send it to a diagnostic lab. In our case, we send it to the animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell in New York,” Beckmen said. If samples test positive there, they are sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, where that lab confirms what kind of avian influenza is present. If it is HPAI, then it goes up on the USDA dashboard. “They prioritize, dairy cases and chicken cases and things like that,” said Beckmen. “That’s why it takes a long time for the wildlife cases to get confirmed and posted.”
Beckmen said that for the past 30 years, Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza was detected in waterfowl in the winter and that it is unusual to have cases of High Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
But she also emphasized that the red fox case is not a cause for heightened levels of worry. “This was not completely unexpected. It was just a little bit different than we’ve normally seen,” she said.
Beckmen said that there could be an uptick in avian influenza cases with the spring bird migration. There have been cases of HPAI in marine mammals in California, which means that monitoring marine mammals for signs of sickness before harvesting is important. She said not to eat wildlife, including birds and marine mammals, that were found dead or were acting sick prior to being harvested. If you must touch a dead bird, wear disposable gloves and double bag the animal before disposing of it in the regular trash.
In marine mammals, HPAI symptoms include sneezing, trouble breathing and excessive amounts of mucus. “We want to be really vigilant to see if that strain of the virus will end up in Alaska and especially in marine mammals,” said Beckmen.
Avian influenza viruses spread through direct, bird-to-bird contact. They can also spread via contaminated surfaces or materials, such as manure, egg crates and people’s clothing, shoes, or hands, the USDA says.
Experts warn to not harvest any animals that are acting out of the ordinary. If you harvest a bird and notice problems in the lungs or if it exhibited respiratory problems before death, report it.
When butchering animals, wear gloves, do not touch your face, eat, drink or smoke. When cooking animals, heat to an internal temperature of 165°F.
Kawerak’s Subsistence Director Chuck Menadelook said that the same best practices for hunting apply: If a bird or animal is acting out of the ordinary, don’t harvest it and report it. Birds with avian flu typically appear disoriented or confused. “You can identify them by disorientation, they spin around in circles, they don’t know where they are,” he said.
USDA lists the following symptoms in birds afflicted with the bird flu: a drop in egg production or soft-shelled, misshapen eggs, swelling of the eyelids, comb, wattles, and shanks; gasping for air (difficulty breathing); nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing; twisting of the head and neck (torticollis); stumbling or falling down and diarrhea.
Report the animal and if you can, take a video of the animal’s behavior. “Don’t eat it, don’t touch it, give us a call,” Menadelook said.
Henslee said that Fish and Game can sample hunter-harvested foxes for avian flu. 
To report sick or dead wild terrestrial mammals, contact the Nome Alaska Department of Fish and Game office. 
If you find a sick or dead wild bird or have concerns about migratory birds, call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Alaska Sick or Dead Bird Hotline at 866-527-3358.
If you notice marine wildlife in distress (mammals or seabirds), notify UAF Alaska Sea Grant MAP Agent Gay Sheffield at (907) 434-1149 and Kawerak Subsistence Director Chuck Menadelook at (907) 443-4265.