After previously being detected in a pair of domestic flocks in Park County, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has now been found among the area’s wild birds as well.

On Monday, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department announced that two great horned owls from Park County, plus a Canada goose from Big Horn County and two other Canada geese from Fremont County have tested positive for HPAI.

The Game and Fish has been monitoring for the virus’s presence in wild populations and “we expected to see HPAI in wild birds after it was identified in domestic flocks in Wyoming,” said Hank Edwards, Wildlife Health Laboratory supervisor.

The virus was first found in Wyoming late last month, in a domestic Johnson County flock. Soon afterwards, HPAI was detected in two mixed-species flocks in Park County — one containing 40 birds and another containing 100 animals — plus other backyard flocks in Sheridan and Fremont counties.

The local cases are among 169 infections among domestic birds and 637 infections among wild birds that have been logged across the country this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

“Game and Fish is relying on reports from the public to learn more about the distribution in our state — especially from hunters and people who spend a lot of time outdoors,” Edwards said. “Anyone who finds clusters of three or more dead wild birds — waterfowl, grouse, turkeys and raptors — please contact your regional Game and Fish office.”

Wild birds can carry HPAI and not appear sick, the Game and Fish Department cautions. Some birds might exhibit signs of neurological impairment or may be found dead with no apparent cause.

Meanwhile, the Wyoming Livestock Board is asking anyone raising poultry to attentively monitor their birds for symptoms of HPAI, which can include: coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, and other signs of respiratory distress; lack of energy and appetite; decreased water consumption; decreased egg production and/or soft-shelled, misshapen eggs; incoordination; and diarrhea. Symptoms should immediately be reported to a veterinarian, the board says.

The disease is “a serious disease and requires rapid response because it is highly contagious and often fatal to chickens,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

HPAI is considered a zoonotic disease, which can infect humans. The Game and Fish is reminding the public to not touch or handle sick or dead birds, and to not allow domestic animals like dogs and cats to feed on sick or dead birds.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that it believes this strain of bird flu, H5N1, poses a “low risk” to the general public. This type of virus has infected bird populations around the globe through the years — including large outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada in 2014 and 2015 — while the World Health Organization says it’s received fewer than 900 reports of people being infected with H5N1 since 2003; about half of those cases in humans resulted in deaths.

However, the CDC says the H5N1 viruses that have been recently found in the U.S. lack the kind of characteristics that would infect people more easily or cause severe illness in people.

“Based on information at this time, it may be that current H5N1 viruses offer less of a risk to human health than earlier H5N1 viruses,” the CDC says.

In its March update, the CDC added that “Given past human infections with bird flu viruses resulting from close contact with infected birds/poultry, sporadic human infections with current H5N1 bird flu viruses would not be surprising, especially among people with exposures who may not be taking recommended precautions (like wearing personal protective equipment, for example).”

The CDC says it will continue to monitor the viruses to look for any changes.

For more information about HPAI and to track Wyoming cases among wild birds, visit tinyurl.com/52nvf62h. To track domestic cases and others across the country, visit tinyurl.com/89a2a8bk.