Bird flu found in NYC park — health experts warn to steer clear of wildlife

US News

By Natalie O’Neill

New Yorkers should stay away from wildlife after several cases of bird flu were discovered in a Manhattan park, health experts warned Wednesday.

Wild geese, a peregrine falcon and a red-tailed hawk have tested positive for the virus in Marcus Garvey Park in Manhattan, according to CBS.

A chicken was also found carrying the disease in the same greenspace, Philip Meade, a postdoctoral fellow at Icahn School of Medicine, told the outlet.

“Precautions that everybody should be taking would be just to limit contact with wildlife,” he said. “You shouldn’t be running up to a Canada goose and trying to catch it.”

But he added, “You’re not gonna walk past a sick goose and get the bird flu. It won’t work like that.”

New Yorkers should also wash their hands after any contact with bird droppings, experts said.

In the past month, the virus has been found in 12 flocks of wild birds across seven states, the majority of which were in Texas.

The disease was also discovered in domestic poultry.

There is no sign of bird flu spreading to people at this time, the CDC said.

In the past two years, only two people have been infected with the disease, also known as H5N1, in the United States.

The patients — from Texas and Colorado, respectively  — had been in contact with farm animals including chickens, according to the CDC.