Increased Concern Over Bird Flu in Virginia
The disease has been found in animals in Loudoun and Stafford counties in recent weeks; the risk of humans contracting the disease remains low.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
Email Hank
There is now growing concern across Virginia about the H5NI virus, commonly known as avian flu or bird flu. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) says the first report of sick or dead birds from avian flu in the state appeared last month, and now several dead vultures found at the R-Board Regional Landfill in Stafford County have tested positive for the virus.
In the past few weeks, infected birds have also been found in the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and Hampton roads regions of the state, and last week, a red fox in Loudoun County tested positive for bird flu—the first mammal to contract the disease in Virginia, raising concern about human contact.
While the Centers for Disease Control considers the risk of transmission of avian flu to people to be low, the virus is highly contagious for birds.
The DWR advises people to limit their contact with backyard chickens, which have become increasingly popular due to the high price of eggs. Chicken owners should isolate the chickens from other birds, and disinfect equipment, footwear, and anything else that may come in contact with the chickens before exposing them to other people, pets, or wildlife.
The public is warned never to pick up or handle a dead bird of any kind. If you must dispose of one, wear gloves and other protective equipment.
According to the CDC, there have been just seven cases of bird flu in humans, causing one death, but most of them are associated with poultry farms and all were on the west coast in 2024.
Dairy cows have also been infected in some parts of the country, raising more possible risk from exposure. Flu surveillance techniques are being used to monitor for any more human cases.
Rosa Salazar, who raises chicken with her family in the Chancellor neighborhood of Spotsylvania County, says she has heard about bird flu, but was not aware it was present in Virginia. She has 12 hens and gets about six eggs a week from them. She bought her first birds at Tractor Supply about a year ago and is now replacing some of the older ones.
“I am very careful,” she says, “I have a separate pair of shoes I wear when I go near them.” She does not let her two children near them.
Salazar said she raised chickens in her native Guatemala and that she checked the county about the rules for raising them here. Her yard is surrounded by a new wooden fence, and she has separated her new batch of chickens from the older ones.
Most of the time, the chickens are inside a coop. But on a sunny and warm Wednesday, the older ones were out in her yard and the smaller ones were outside but surrounded by chicken wire.
Salazar says she is not worried about contact with wild birds, which are abundant in her quiet neighborhood. Her only concern is getting rid of her rooster, which says she says is too loud.
The American Veterinary Medical Association says that family pets should also be protected and that cats are particularly susceptible to severe illness or even death from avian flu. The association suggests keeping pet cats indoors to avoid exposing them.
Avian flu has forced farmers to slaughter 166 million birds, mostly egg laying hens, in 2024, and another 30 million so far this year. It is a major reason why the price of eggs started to spike at the grocery store over the last year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s March Egg Markets Overview, the price of white, large eggs rose 26-cents this month to an average of $3.26 per dozen.
The public is asked to help monitor bird flu. If you see five or more dead birds of any kind in one area, you should notify the Department of Wildlife Resources hotline at 855.571-9003 or email the agency at wildlifehealth@dwr.virginia.gov.
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit the link that follows.
Support Award-winning, Locally Focused Journalism
The FXBG Advance cuts through the talking points to deliver both incisive and informative news about the issues, people, and organizations that daily affect your life. And we do it in a multi-partisan format that has no equal in this region. Over the past year, our reporting was:
First to break the story of Stafford Board of Supervisors dismissing a citizen library board member for “misconduct,” without informing the citizen or explaining what the person allegedly did wrong.
First to explain falling water levels in the Rappahannock Canal.
First to detail controversial traffic numbers submitted by Stafford staff on the Buc-ee’s project
Our media group also offers the most-extensive election coverage in the region and regular columnists like:
And our newsroom is led by the most-experienced and most-awarded journalists in the region — Adele Uphaus (Managing Editor and multiple VPA award-winner) and Martin Davis (Editor-in-Chief, 2022 Opinion Writer of the Year in Virginia and more than 25 years reporting from around the country and the world).
For just $8 a month, you can help support top-flight journalism that puts people over policies.
Your contributions 100% support our journalists.
Help us as we continue to grow!
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”