More Than 200 Birds Dead, Likely From Avian Flu, At Forest Preserve

BARRINGTON, IL — Forest preserve officials believe an avian flu outbreak at a Barrington forest preserve caused the death of more than 200 birds in a week.

After the discovery, Forest Preserve District of Cook County officials sent seven of the birds, all deceased cormorants, to a state lab to be tested. The laboratory results from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found "the large and varied bird population at Baker’s Lake forest preserve is suffering from a presumed outbreak of H5 avian influenza."

Further testing will be done by the federal government, which "provides the only declaration of incidences of avian influenza," according to a news release from the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

Staff are monitoring other forest preserve locations for similar issues but have not found any evidence of avian flu outbreaks elsewhere. The H5 avian flu virus poses a low risk to the public, according to public health officials.

Officials say those visiting a forest preserve should not interact with a sick or dead bird or any sick or dead animal, according to the news release. If you do see a dead bird at any Cook County forest preserve location, you should notify officials by emailing ResourceManagement.FPCC@cookcountyil.gov.