The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, in collaboration with the Department of State Health Services Zoonosis Control Branch and the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab, has detected a widespread influenza in wild birds across Texas.
“Recent testing has detected Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in mammal species including foxes, raccoons, striped skunks, and domestic cats collected in Deaf Smith, Hansford, Lubbock, Ochiltree, Parmer and Randall Counties,” TWPD said in a press release.
According to TWPD, recent detections have been found in Amarillo, El Paso, Galveston, Harris, Lubbock, Potter, Travis and Wharton counties. “HPAI is a highly contagious zoonotic virus that transmits easily among wild and domestic birds,” TWPD said. “It can spread directly between animals and indirectly through environmental contamination.”…