WAHIAWA, Hawaii (KHON2) -- A Wahiawa woman is devastated after the avian flu hit her property, killing 20 of her birds.
For years, Susan Wilkinson rescued, rehabilitated and rehomed ducks and geese at Susie's Duck Sanctuary in Wahiawa. She told KHON2 there were less than 100 birds on her property, and now all of them are dead.
She said she had no idea how her property became ground zero for the deadly H5N1 virus, and the first detection in the state.
Early on Nov. 5, Wilkinson said she noticed something odd in her yard.
"There was a duck that passed away, and there were no signs, no nothing, no ideas, there was also a zebra dove on the property that had passed, so we didn't know exactly what was going on," Wilkinson explained.
Over the course of that week, 20 more ducks died as well as 13 zebra doves.
"In the middle of all this, I reached out to a vet and we were working together and decided to inform the state and federal vets to get more answers because it was very fast, very furious," she said.
Originally, she thought it might be pesticides because everything happened when the area saw heavy rains.
She said none of the birds showed any symptoms when she attended the Mililani pet fair on Nov. 2.
TIMELINE
- Nov. 2: Mililani Pet Fair
- Nov. 5: Dead birds found on property for first time
- Nov. 6 to Nov. 12: 20 more of her birds died on the property
- Nov. 7: Routine wastewater sample collected at Wahiawa Wastewater Treatment Facility
- Nov. 12: DOH announced water results with signs of avian influenza
- Nov. 15: Susan's birds' results come back positive for the virus. All remaining birds on the property are killed.
The sanctuary is right near Wahiawa Wastewater Treatment Facility, and she said when she heard about the water sample, she expected the worst.
"My heart sank," she said. "I had a really bad feeling and my positivity changed right there."
"Avian flu hadn't been on island, it was never in our minds," she said. She said she and the vet went over numerous other illnesses that could impact birds, but none of the symptoms were adding up.
She said the first signs something was wrong with her birds was sleepiness, loss of appetite, a 'radiator fluid green' loose stool, and an eye infection.
When the test results came back positive from her birds, Wilkinson was told all the animals would have to be euthanized on the property within the next few hours. She said the USDA and the state vet euthanized the remaining birds on Friday, Nov. 15.
"It was bad, but they allowed me to be with them, they were very humane with the treatment and I have respect for state vet for that and for their kindness," she said.
She said the zebra doves showed the highest concentration of the virus but doesn't know what species brought it.
"This is no joke, this is real, it is on island, and it is nasty," she warned.
"Quarantine your birds and quarantine your flock now," she suggested. "Be safe, I don't wish this on anybody, this is literally the worst thing in my life ever."
"I tried to quarantine, I tried to disinfect the entire property, we tried everything to be able to avoid what my greatest fear was but it wasn't enough," Wilkinson added.
She said some died within hours of showing symptoms. She did not test positive for the virus and has been cleared.
She hopes the state puts out quarantine advisories so others can protect their flock.
Her property is now under quarantine for four months, and although she can't physically help injured birds for the time being, she said raising awareness about the serious nature of this virus is what she can do to help.
"All I ever did was try and save lives, and I wasn't able to, I don't want anyone to feel this way," she said with tears in her eyes.
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She said one of the birds inside the house caught the virus too.
"It's like a flu virus, quarantine is so important because if you have it on your feet and you walk into another area with your birds they get infected," she said. She recommends people surrounded by birds put a bowl of bleach near the door to wash their shoes.