As the avian influenza continues to ravage wild bird populations, the experts have started to claim that “something worse is on the way.” The bird flu virus is now supposedly infecting a slew of wild snow geese in Pennsylvania.

Over 200 snow geese are currently suspected to have been killed by the bird flu. These were found across Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. The experts are now concerned that the death toll could climb even higher as cases continue to skyrocket in the area. The birds were found at the Lower Nazareth Township in Northhampton County and Upper Macungie Township in Lehigh County, 6ABC, a local ABC News affiliate reported. The two sites are just over 20 miles apart.

According to a report by The New York Post, early testing has identified the H5N1 virus, also known as bird flu, in some of the geese, but the results still need to be ratified by the US Department of Agriculture before they can be officially confirmed as new avian influenza cases.

“We just hope that these mortality events that we recorded don’t signal something worse is on the way,” Travis Lau, the spokesperson with the Pennsylvania Game Commission that is investigating the cases, told the local ABC affiliate station. 

Infected, but still living birds were also discovered in the region.

“It’s devastating, and to know that other animals are eating those dead bodies, it’s a terrible domino effect. I mean you have eagles. We saw eagles flying above there. They’re feeding on these dead bodies, they’re contracting it,” Janine Tancredi, co-executive director at the Wilderz at Pocono Wildlife, told the news station.

Humans, cats, and dairy cattle have also been infected with the bird flu.

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A total of 66 human cases have been reported nationwide. In 2024, California saw the most cases of any state with 36 confirmed cases resulting from exposure to infected cattle, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California also saw raw milk recalls because of products contaminated by bird flu. –The New York Post

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