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Use disposable towels to dry hands after cleaning. If gloves are not available, hands should be cleaned with soap and water or an 80% alcohol hand cleaner before handling animals and between handling each animal.
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Recommendations to Limit Exposure to COVID-19 and Other Viruses, Bacteria, or Parasites: These precautions offer protection from COVID-19 as well as other viruses, bacteria, or parasites that might be present in deer or furbearers (rabies, Tularemia, etc.). Hunters and trappers should use the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to prevent exposure. Hunters and trappers are likely to have close, direct contact with wildlife during field-dressing, butchering, and skinning. Safety Recommendations for Hunters and Trappers The best form of protection from COVID-19 infection is to get vaccinated, and when eligible, to get a booster. People like wildlife rehabilitators and captive deer owners who come in to direct contact with wild or captive deer should limit contact when and where possible and follow proper biosecurity procedures when direct contact needs to occur such as wearing gloves and a face mask, thoroughly washing hands before and after contact, and properly disinfecting equipment. Hunters and trappers should also consider wearing a face mask when field dressing or processing game. Wear gloves when field dressing and processing game, carefully wash hands, and disinfect equipment afterwards. If wildlife is injured or trapped in a place it should not be, contact a regional wildlife office, wildlife rehabilitator, or nuisance wildlife control operator.Ĭontinuing to follow "best practices" is also true for hunters and trappers who may harvest deer or other game. Most people will not come into direct contact with wildlife and "best practices" for interacting with wildlife that existed pre-COVID still apply - if you care, leave it there. There is no evidence that animals, including deer, are playing a significant role in the spread of COVID-19, and based on existing evidence the risk to people from animals is low. It is not known how free-ranging deer were exposed to the virus, but it is speculated that it could have been through people, the environment, other deer, or another animal species. Field samples were collected opportunistically, so may not accurately reflect overall exposure rates in free-ranging deer. Work in New York found 18% of samples collected here had SARS-CoV-2 (virus that causes COVID-19) antibodies. Recent studies by USDA found that white-tailed deer may carry COVID-19 antibodies (an indication they had been exposed to the virus) or may carry the virus itself. If you handle wild birds, particularly waterfowl, gulls, and raptors, you should follow precautions such as using personal protective equipment like masks, gloves, and eye protection, and washing your hands thoroughly. While the risk of a person becoming infected is low, you can protect yourself by harvesting only game that appears to be healthy and properly cooking any game meat you eat to an internal temperature of 165° F, which kills the virus. No human cases of these avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the recent HPAI detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern. Department of Agriculture, and the Cornell Wildlife Health program to monitor AI and HPAI in New York. NYSDEC is working with the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets, U.S. In February 2022, the first case of HPAI in New York was found in Suffolk County. In early 2022, HPAI was detected in several eastern states. Those that cause severe disease in poultry are called Highly Pathogenic AI (HPAI) viruses. Some AI viruses are more severe than others. It can also affect domestic gamebirds and poultry like chickens, turkeys, and other birds, and can spread quickly in affected flocks. Animal Diseases Avian Influenza - Spring 2022Īvian influenza (AI) is a disease caused by a virus in wild birds such as ducks and geese, gulls, raptors, and shorebirds.