NEPTUNE -- Last week the Asbury Park Press reported on two dozen dead geese in Allentown. Since then, the press has learned of two more locations that wild birds have been found dead: along the Shark River in Neptune and also along the beach in Lavallette.
Fear of bird flu has caused officials to have a number of the wild fowl tested for the H5N1 strain of the avian flu, but no results have come back yet.
After a report of dead birds on the Shark River, the Asbury Park Press went there on Tuesday and observed three deceased swans and two dead geese. Gina LaPlaca, Neptune's business administrator, said the township's Office of Emergency Management is handling the response. It's unclear how many wild fowl have been found dead on the river.
The birds been found in the Shark River Hills section of the river. The OEM said the town doesn't pick up the birds, instead the state Department of Environmental Protection sends out Fish & Wildlife staff to pick up the birds for testing and/or disposal. The NJDEP sends the test results to Monmouth County Health officials.
Allentown's Mayor Thomas Fritts said the his town has not gotten back the results of the autopsies on the geese picked up from three of their parks. Fritts said he was told by state officials it would take a couple of weeks to get answers. In the meantime, last week the town closed two parks and a portion of a third for public safety.
At Lavallette, beachgoers have observed several dead sea gulls. Jennie Weeks, owner of the Happy Belly health foods store in town, said she's seen about seven or eight dead sea gulls during her daily walks over the last three weeks. The Asbury Park Press observed four dead sea gulls on Tuesday.
"Let's get to the bottom of this. Why is it happening and what can we do to address it?" said Janet Tauro, board chair for Clean Water Action NJ, a national nonprofit with chapters across the country, including New Jersey, that advocates for clean water.
Tauro said they have concerns of the virus getting into the water supply. They are also concerned about the safety of pets contracting the bird flu while on walks to the park or by streams that have wild water fowl.
While the bird flu is more common in fowl and dairy cows, it has also infected some mammals, including but not limited to stray or domestic animals such as cats and dogs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, has been monitoring an outbreak of the bird flu that so far has seen over 157 million cases in domestic poultry 968 in dairy cows since it was detected in 2022. In the current outbreak, the virus in cows was first detected on March 24, 2024. Just under 12,000 cases of bird flu have been detected in wild birds, including 93 cases in New Jersey.
However, as of Feb. 14, there has been no H5N1 detected in New Jersey's domestic poultry or cattle, according to the state. There are also no reported cases of human infection of H5N1 in New Jersey.
Both the CDC and the state of New Jersey said the current public health risk is low. There have been 68 cases, including one death, reported in humans since April 1, 2024. Most of those cases, 36, came from dairy farms in California. The one death occurred Jan. 6 of this year in Louisiana.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, tips for preventing bird flu infection in dogs and cats are the same as for many other infectious diseases:
When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; [email protected].