‘It’s so bad.’ Hawaii’s first cases of avian flu confirmed at Wahiawa duck rescue

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii News Now has learned where Hawaii’s first cases of avian flu were confirmed.
The owner of a Wahiawa duck rescue tells us it was first discovered at her nonprofit, and she initially thought her animals had been poisoned.
The numbers of bird deaths from this one duck rescue are staggering. Twenty rescued waterfowl were found dead with 13 wild zebra birds.
Then the state agriculture department decided to put down more than 70 birds on the Wahiawa property, leaving the founder of the duck rescue devastated.
In an emotional post on Instagram, Susan Wilkinson, founder of Susie’s Duck Sanctuary, said Hawaii’s first detection of avian flu was discovered at her waterbird rescue in a Wahiawa residential neighborhood.
“It’s not a government conspiracy. It’s not a joke. It’s so bad. It’s so bad,” she said.
Wilkinson did not reveal her exact location, but wants the public to take the deadly bird virus seriously. She says 20 of her rescued waterbirds, ducks, geese and a swan died rapidly two weeks ago.
Some had no symptoms while others were lethargic and had neurological issues.
“They were having like twitches in their head and their necks were twisting, so very neurological. There’s this whole gambit of symptoms that we just didn’t, couldn’t put it all together,” Wilkinson told Hawaii News Now.
“I had no idea. We thought it was a poisoning,” she added.
Wilkinson’s veterinarian contacted state officials who tested the dead birds, confirming avian flu.
Dr. Isaac Maeda, the state veterinarian, says the Department of Agriculture decided to euthanize more than 70 birds at the sanctuary to prevent the deadly bird virus from spreading.
“The decision was made because of the fact that this was the first detection that we’ve had,” he said. “What we want to do is try to get rid of the viral load to prevent further spread.”
State health officials say some Wilkinson’s birds were at the Mililani Town Association’s pet fair on Nov. 2, but did not show signs of infection then.
Wilkinson says visitors did not touch her animals. Her property has been cleaned and disinfected, and it’ll be 120 days before she can have birds there again.
“As the birds were not showing signs of infection at the time of the fair, the likelihood of spreading H5N1 to humans is low. However, out of an abundance of caution, DOH recommends that individuals who attended the fair and touched a duck or goose monitor for influenza-like illness (ILI) and conjunctivitis (“pink eye”) symptoms,” said Hawaiʻi State Department of Health in a statement.
State agriculture officials say it’s possible Wilkinson’s birds got sick from the zebra doves, but how the wild birds got it is unclear since they don’t migrate from off island.
Officials are reminding people to not touch sick birds, do not feed wild birds, or allow them to mix with your feathered pets.
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