6 wild ducks found dead in stream in Maine tested positive for bird flu

WINTHROP, Maine — Six wild ducks found dead in a stream in Winthrop, Maine have tested positive for the bird flu.

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The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on Friday said that six hooded mergansers were found dead in a stream and had tested positive for avian flu, according to The Associated Press.

The type of flu is a highly pathogenic avian influenza which is a strain that the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Iowa confirmed to be circulating around the state of Maine, according to the AP. This specific strain is very contagious and can possibly spread as well as mutated between both wild and domestic bird flocks.

It is rare for bird flu to infect humans, according to the AP. It has however been detected in poultry and wild birds in every state that makes up New England.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggests those who have domestic birds contain and separate them from wild birds as often as possible, according to the AP.

The hooded merganser is a small duck that dives and it’s very popular among bird watchers, according to the AP.