Alaska reports after-the-fact deaths of 5 seabirds from bird flu

 

Map credit:  Encyclopedia Britannica 

Headline:  KNOM, 9/16/2026

Margaret Sutherland reports:

Five seabirds collected near Nome between 2024 and 2025 have tested positive for a highly contagious strain of bird flu known as H5N1 

That’s according to lab results from the U.S Department of Agriculture. The seabirds were collected by community members who found them dead or distressed. 

Gay Sheffield is the Bering Strait agent for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Sea Grant Program. She says the samples were put away in a freezer for years while they awaited testing. It wasn’t until June, when a researcher from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital visited Nome, that the samples were taken for testing. 

“[We] can't test here. That's why it was just magic to have St. Jude Research Hospital just show up here to look for harvested waterfowl,” Sheffield said. “When she wasn't getting much, she just said, "Oh, I'd love to look. You got any other samples?” And I said, "Yeah, I've been archiving these birds, waiting for them to be sampled.”

Lots more bird flu posts here.