Wild birds are said to have brought avian flu (bird flu) to Colorado in recent years. Media reports – both in Colorado and in national news – over the last three years, have claimed over 1,000 infected birds in the wild are dead from these Type-A influenzas. These deaths are in addition to over 1 million commercial poultry slaughtered after contracting the virus or as a precaution.
With the global outbreak that slowed everyday life to a crawl for three years, there is heightened concern about communicable diseases. That’s the case for human illness and human-adjacent illnesses like bird flu in Colorado. The consensus is mainly that humans are at low risk of severe illness or mortality if contracting most types of bird flu.
As of this month, bird flu has supposedly hit over half the counties in Colorado, one way or another. According to an April 11 article in a Colorado newspaper, the threshold for bird flu presence is remarkably low: a county has had contact if there is a single instance of “confirmed avian flu death” in one animal during a given season. That standard is the determination of state wildlife officers.
Are Humans in Colorado at Risk from Bird Flu?
Though the risk to humans is low, there was a recent fatality. A woman in China with pre-existing conditions died earlier this year, reportedly from the H3N8 avian flu subtype. However, there appears to be little or no outside non-media confirmation. Also, the reporting agency is the World Health Organization. Adding to the suspicious nature of this news splash is the insinuation that her illness may have come from a wet market, a now familiar canard for the pandemic.
A 2022 suspected case of human bird flu infection was tied to a commercial poultry farm in Colorado’s Montrose County, according to a state press release. But the language is suspicious.
The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment’s official statement was an odd instance of hair-splitting. “Repeat testing on the person was negative for influenza. Because the person was in close contact with infected poultry, the virus may have been present in the person’s nose without causing infection.”
If so, why was the man “isolating and receiving the influenza antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu)”? The report states it is “per CDC guidance.”
Was he infected with bird flu or not?
Reports of Avian Flu Infection in Colorado Wildlife this Year?
Starting in early November of last year, Colorado had numerous questionable wildlife deaths. These fatalities in undomesticated mammals were, in so many words, attributed to avian flu.
In February, Colorado Parks and Wildlife issued a press release noting three instances of bird flu deaths in mammals. The deaths began in October of last year. A skunk, a mountain lion and a black bear tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). According to the release, the bear had been euthanized, while the skunk and mountain lion were apparently found dead.
Numerous media accounts have noted that state wildlife officials do not collect the bodies of every suspected bird flu animal death.
Vaccinations and More
Scientific American noted that the US government has a cache of H5N1 vaccines – a subtype – ready to roll just in case. The same article notes that (in an odd twist) the vaccines for certain viruses are incubated in actual chicken eggs. Throughout the US, hidden clucks of chickens produce eggs to supply the needed biopharmaceuticals. Yet, farmers’ herds in Colorado (and elsewhere) are being ruthlessly culled if the virus is found. Those livestock deaths are in addition to vigorous biosecurity measures for commercial bird farms.
But could something else have killed some of the birds lumped in with avian flu deaths?
Despite the best efforts of environmentalists to lobby otherwise, wind turbines kill many birds. The Audubon Society estimates the number is 140,000 to a half-million per year.
A mass bird death by Jumbo Reservoir in the northeast corner of the state occurred in March 2022. Several dozen wind turbines are less than 24 kilometers northwest of this body of water. They are approximately 60 to 100 meters in height. These figures are according to maps created by the Energy Information Agency.
Through other map renderings, it’s shown that the Nebraska border where these turbines are is one of the windiest parts of Colorado (which makes sense for placing wind turbines).
If one or more birds are found to have bird flu – Colorado Parks and Wildlife publicly states they don’t collect every animal carcass suspected of having avian influenza. Juleberg Reservoir is less than 15 miles southeast of this gauntlet of wind turbines. Wind turbines have mandatory minimum distance setbacks from residential buildings. In countless media reports about this die-off last March, there appears to be no mention of who discovered the birds.
The suggestion is clear. With an aggressive renewable energy push by powerful green energy businesses and interest groups in the state, a coverup of hundreds of birds slaughtered by green electricity windmill blades is plausible.
The concerns about agricultural safety and security, and the 2020s whiplash regarding contagious diseases create a pall of off-putting confusion around the deaths. And as those deaths decline and other news takes over, these questions remain unanswered.
