Animals dead following bird flu infections at Wildlife World Zoo: MCDPH

PHOENIX – The Maricopa County Department of Public Health on Wednesday said deadly bird flu cases were found at the Wildlife World Zoo.

The virus, health officials say, likely led to the deaths of five of the zoo’s animals.

“The Wildlife World Zoo identified ill animals and brought them into the Arizona Department of Agriculture to conduct testing. Test results indicated that these animals were likely ill from H5N1 avian flu, which was first seen in wild birds in the United States in 2015,” the county health department said on Dec. 11.

The animals who died include a cheetah, a mountain lion, a swamphen, an Andean goose, and a Kookaburra. A white tiger, meanwhile, tested positive, and is responding well to treatment.

“We are grateful that the impact was limited thanks to our swift response, robust biosecurity protocols, and the invaluable support of Maricopa County Department of Public Health and state and federal agencies,” zoo spokesperson Kristy Hayden said.

County health officials say the risk to members of the public and zoo visitors remains low overall, but they are working with the zoo to identify and contact staff and volunteers who are deemed to be at a higher risk of infection due to “close, prolonged contact with the infected animals.”

The zoo has put a temporary hold on guest activities with direct animal contact.

Cases of bird flu have previously been found in poultry within the state. Two human cases were also reported.

What is avian influenza?

According to the Mayo Clinic, avian influenza, which is also called ‘bird flu,’ is caused by influenza type A virus infections in bird species.

Per the website, birds could die from avian influenza in very serious cases.

“Bird flu rarely infects humans, but health officials worry because influenza A viruses that infect birds can change, called mutate, to infect humans and spread from person to person more often,” read a portion of the website. “Because a new strain of bird flu would be a new virus to humans, a mutated strain like that could spread quickly around the world.”