Duck Disease Outbreak

There's been another deadly outbreak for the ducks, this time in Northeastern Oregon. Here's Michelle Dennehy, Oregon Wildlife Communication Coordinator to share more on this topic.

Michelle "We are investigating a possible outbreak of Avian Cholera in ducks, we found several hundred dead ducks at wetlands on private lands in Stanfield and Milton Freewater areas. Actually members of the public reported the ducks to us and just a few days before, Washington Fish & Wildlife confirmed that they had an outbreak of Avian Cholera, near Burbank, WA which is not far from Stanfield Milton Freewater area. We're still waiting for confirmation that it's Avian Cholera, but that's what we suspect because it's so close Washington outbreak. Avian Cholera is caused by a bacteria, and it's a very common disease among ducks, geese, and other waterfowl. Some of the symptoms they display are lethargy, convulsions, swimming in circles, erratic flights, and you may also see mucus discharge from the mouth and nose. We're also working with Federal Wildlife Managers, to collect and safely dispose of any dead ducks we find, because we don't want that bacteria out there in the environment infecting healthy birds."

Michelle, thank you for the update