Last month, tests conducted at the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed H5 avian influenza in several Canada geese carcasses found on campus. About a dozen dead geese were discovered by campus services staff near the Lake LaVerne shoreline Dec. 22-23.
Associate director of facilities services Ben Haywood said there have been no other discoveries of dead geese in the two weeks since then. He noted that aerators in the lake were turned off to allow the water to freeze over as the weather allows and discourage migrating wild birds from landing there.
In a Dec. 23 email message to the campus community, senior vice president for operations and finance Sean Reeder said the risk to the community is minimal. He encouraged people to avoid contact with any wild birds. If an employee or student comes upon a dead goose on campus, they should not touch it and are asked to report the location to the facilities planning and management service center, by phone 515-294-5100, or online maintenance request form, for proper disposal.
Avian influenza is widespread in wild birds, with many cases reported in Iowa this year. The university reported these cases to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The state of Iowa has additional resources and information online.
