“Wild animals can sometimes transmit diseases to humans, and while we typically think of rabies or other well-known diseases as the primary concerns, this shows that there are other risks to keep in mind as well,” said Dr. Joni Scheftel, state public health veterinarian with the Minnesota Department of Health, in a statement.

“The best advice is to avoid contact with wildlife that appear sick or injured and contact your healthcare provider if you are bitten or have another close contact with wildlife,” he added.

According to Michigan officials, the fox kits in the state exhibited neurologic signs of HPAI before death. The kits were observed circling, tremoring, and seizing.

Two of the three died within hours of intake, while one appeared to respond to supportive therapy but then died in care.

Interestingly, an additional kit that was a sibling of the Macomb County kit did survive but developed blindness, making her non-releasable, the officials said.

The virus was detected in swabs collected from the nose, mouth, throat, and brain tissue of all three kits, and a full postmortem examination was conducted to aid in learning more about this disease in foxes.

Last week, two red fox kits in Ontario, Canada also tested positive for HPAI. Those kits were the first reported cases of the current HPAI outbreak in a wild mammal in North America.

Although the virus mainly affects birds, it occasionally jumps to humans, especially those in close contact with poultry, and the death rate is as high as 50 percent.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (or OIE) said it had seen a significant increase in reports with various subtypes – including H5N1, H5N6, and H5N8 – found in over 40 countries.

In April, a man in Colorado became the first to test positive for bird flu in the US, but suffered only ‘very mild’ symptoms.

Earlier this year, China reported two human cases of bird flu H5N6 in a 68-year-old man from Sichuan Province and a 55-year-old woman from Zhejiang province. The Hong Kong Health department, in a statement, said that the two people are in a “critical condition” in hospital after contracting H5N6 avian influenza.

A rare human case of bird flu was also detected in a person living in the South West of England, UK.

Source: IANS