On Friday morning, emergency management officials had to tackle a concerning incident involving a waste management truck that crashed into a ditch along Route 33 in Churubusco, northern Indiana. The truck was transporting ducks that had died from bird flu, and this unfortunate event occurred shortly after 8 a.m., leading to the closure of the highway in both directions, according to the Whitley County Emergency Management Agency.
The agency reported that the scene was secured with a 100-foot perimeter for safety, noting that there’s currently no known threat to public health.
According to the agency, a collaboration between Waste Management, Maple Leaf Farms, and the Indiana Animal Health Commission is in place to deploy a specialized team to handle the cleanup.
Recently, there have been reports of hundreds of wild bird deaths across seven counties, which has prompted closures in certain parks.
Multiple local departments responded to this incident, including the Smith Township Fire Department, Whitley Sheriff’s Department, and Churubusco Police Department. The emergency management agency advised the public on social media to steer clear of the area around 650 East and US 33, particularly north of Churubusco.
In a related note, a state of disaster emergency was declared in Colorado due to an outbreak of avian influenza that has affected facilities housing approximately 1.3 million chickens.
The deceased ducks had been collected from several Maple Leaf farms in northern Michigan, all of which tested positive for bird flu. Over the last few years, the H5N1 avian influenza has been widespread in the United States, leading to the deaths of hundreds of millions of birds.
Avian influenza is notably contagious among birds and certain mammals, though it doesn’t spread easily to humans. The CDC indicates that when human infections do occur, they typically result from close, unprotected contact with infected birds or animals.
