Avian influenza outbreak guidelines also apply to polar bears
Last month, health officials documented the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a polar bear. The male cub had been found dead in the North Slope in October and tested positive for the virus.
The continued outbreak of avian influenza has mostly affected birds. Wildlife managers say the same safety guidelines for hunters handling migratory birds now apply to those encountering polar bears, too.
Vanessa Kauffman, of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Public Affairs, said the agency’s polar bear program works with partners to monitor polar bear population health.
“This work includes investigation of polar bear mortalities,” Kauffman said. “If indicated by post-mortem findings, testing for avian influenza will be conducted as part of the cause of death determination.”
Those who find a dead polar bear are encouraged to call the FWS’s Marine Mammals Management office in Anchorage at (800) 362-5148.
Since early 2022, a deadly strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been transmitted widely among domestic and wild birds across the U.S. The outbreak has led to millions of cullings at poultry producers. Hundreds of dead wild birds have tested positive for the virus across Alaska, and it has also jumped to mammals. The virus has been detected in American black bears and brown bears as well as marine mammals like seals. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, or CDC, has said that the risk to human health is low.
“It sounds serious, but I think one of the most important things to remember is the CDC and the Alaska
Department of Environmental [Conservation] have both shared information about it, and they believe the risk for human health is low,” said Whitney Kellie, the new executive director of the Alaska Nannut CoManagement Council, or ANCC for short. “We’ve been encouraging everybody to keep that in mind.”
ANCC represents the Alaska Native tribes that harvest polar bears for subsistence. Kellie said the group shared the FWS’s general safety guidelines with its board members, who come from each community that’s part of the ANCC.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines:
• Do not handle or eat sick game.
• Field dress and prepare game outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.
• Wear rubber or disposable nitrile gloves while handling and cleaning game.
• When done handling game, wash hands thoroughly with soap or disinfectant, and clean knives, equipment, and surfaces that came in contact with game.
• Do not eat, drink or smoke while handling animals.
• All game should be thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F before being consumed.