AKRON, Ohio — The Akron Zoo is taking precautions because of the rise in bird flu cases.
About 20 birds— geese, ducks and swans— normally outside on zoo grounds are now quarantined indefinitely inside buildings to protect them from catching H5N1, more commonly known as bird flu.
"With the increase of cases that have been happening in the state of Ohio, we felt the need to increase the protection for our most at-risk birds," said Dr. Brittany Rizzo, the director of animal health.
The Akron Zoo has also closed down entrances to the aviary. At the current time, guests cannot get close to the birds in the exhibit, but they are still able to check them out from outside viewing areas.
Rizzo stressed the zoo remains a safe place for families to visit.
"The precautions that we have in place are for the safety of the animals under our care, but there is no increased risk to visitors enjoying the zoo as they would anywhere else in public," she said.
There have not been any bird flu cases found at the zoo, but the monitoring is ongoing.
"We have been doing routine testing of our collection just to make sure that we don't see anything. If, obviously, cases were to pop up, we would institute all of our protocols. We would call the necessary agencies," Rizzo said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated that bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide. In the U.S., there have been many outbreaks in poultry and cows.
While there are no reports of human-to-human spread, there are dozens of cases of people contracting the virus through animal exposure.
"In the United States, there has been 67 human cases, so that's what we're really monitoring," said Dr. Erika Soboleweski, the medical director at Summit County Public Health.
So far, Sobolewski said there are not any human cases in Ohio.
Reports this month of positive bird flu cases in Stark County and suspected cases in birds in Summit County are part of why the Akron Zoo is making changes. Public health officials are reminding people to take precautions.
Those safety measures include staying away from wild birds and avoiding collecting feathers.
"Certainly if they're ill, sick birds, you want to stay away from those to avoid contact with those, so it's distancing. Certainly if you have contact, wash your hands," Sobolewski said.
She told News 5 that symptoms of bird flu are similar to the common flu.
"Headache, fever, cough, muscle aches, those types of things," Sobolewski said.
