Not only in winter, but since last year bird flu is also raging in summer. Many more species are also infected: a major problem for the Bird Hospital in Haarlem, which takes care of wild birds in need. “Almost all birds that come in must first be quarantined for ten days. We don’t have that space.”
Wiebe Boomsma is one of the two managers of the Bird Hospital. The ‘hospital’ takes in about 4,500 birds in need every year. The peak of the shelter is between May and September, because many young birds fall from nests and are taken care of in the hospital.
“Risk birds must first be quarantined for ten days”
For the institution, the main problem with bird flu is that the disease is not going away and that many more birds are infected than normal. “As a result, all at-risk birds such as waterfowl, scavengers, crows and birds of prey must first be quarantined upon arrival, so that they cannot infect other birds here,” says Boomsma.
Room
The Bird Hospital just doesn’t have enough space to isolate the new critters. As a solution, several birds are now placed separately together.
“If a bird from that group is infected, then the other insects are probably also infected. That is very annoying for the group, but we can’t do anything else,” says Boomsma. “This is the only way to handle it. We actually need a bird hospital, but that is certainly not possible.”
From animal to human
In addition to the limited quarantine space, there is a second problem: the safety of the carers. “Bird flu is a zoonosis and can be passed from animals to humans”, Boomsma continues. “We work with gloves, mouth masks, aprons and boots. These are disposable products and cost a lot of extra money. And we are not very rich in both volunteers and financial resources.”
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According to Boomsma, there are different variations of the flu, which is highly contagious for birds. “With the variant that went around last winter, the birds quickly develop neurological complaints. They shake and turn their heads, can no longer eat and eventually die.”
“Watch your dog, he can get it too”
So far, the Bird Hospital has been able to keep the disease at bay reasonably well. “The high season for the shelter has yet to start, so it will be very exciting next year,” says Boomsma. “And if people see birds shaking their heads, stay away and call the animal ambulance. But also think of your dog or cat because they can get it too.”
Rapid Tests
Furthermore, it is possible to vaccinate birds, something that is easy with “animals in the kept situation such as at home or a zoo. But we work with wild birds, so vaccination is not really useful unless you have to vaccinate them all, but that is impossible,” responds the bird keeper.
Rapid tests for birds could help. “Then we can immediately determine on arrival whether a bird is infected and not every bird has to be quarantined for ten days. Which would save a lot of space.”
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