Five animals from a Phoenix-area zoo died this week after testing positive for avian influenza, or the bird flu, but here locally Reid Park Zoo’s Chief Veterinarian Alexis Roth wants to assure the public they are well aware of this disease and have a plan in place to protect their animals and the public.
The Reid Park Zoo is home to hundreds of birds and the avian flu is typically spread to other animals from birds.
"So we know as birds migrate obviously through the air, they may land in habitat spaces, they may land in parks or they may even defecate as they’re flying over and that is a way that this virus can be transmitted,” Roth said.
According to Roth transmission has been circulating here in the United States at least since 2022, which is why the zoo monitors the infectious disease.
"What we do is we monitor migration patterns of birds and as expected with those migration patterns we see an increase in incidents of this disease,” Roth said.
Their plan includes monitoring those incidents for any deceased birds. They look for symptoms in all of their animals - not just birds and they also isolate any susceptible animals if it's detected anywhere close.
Last year the zoo did have a king vulture who died from the disease and the zoo took action.
"Because we had such an effective plan in place we were able to immediately isolate birds in that aviary and protect the rest of the collection as well as the public,” Roth said.
Roth does say the public doesn't need to worry any more than they would for other respiratory viruses that are spreading.
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Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist. She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
