New Hampshire

What to know about bird flu in New Hampshire: From backyard flocks to waterfowl

Published

1 year ago

February 6, 2025

What to know about bird flu in New Hampshire: From backyard flocks to waterfowl

Click the player above to hear NHPR Reporter Paul Cuno-Booth’s conversation with All Things Considered Host Julia Furukawa about this topic, produced by Michelle Liu.

New Hampshire health officials say they are continuing to monitor for bird flu activity, as the disease spreads across the country and in nearby states, including Massachusetts. Here’s what you need to know about the risk levels — for humans and animals — in New Hampshire.

How worried should people in New Hampshire be about bird flu?

Public health officials say the risk to the general population in New Hampshire is very low right now. No people here have tested positive for the virus, and State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan emphasized that the vast majority of human cases reported elsewhere have been in people who’ve been in direct contact with farm animals.

“There has been no evidence of person to person spread of this virus,” Chan said.

In other parts of the country, the virus has been detected in wild birds, dairy cattle, poultry flocks and other animals. At least 67 people have also tested positive, and one person has died from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Has the virus been detected at all in New Hampshire?

Yes. Bird flu is circulating in some wild birds in New Hampshire — especially waterfowl, like ducks and geese. But so far, it hasn’t spread to any commercial poultry flocks or dairy herds in New Hampshire or New England.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been tracking information on the spread of the virus in wild birds, livestock, poultry and mammals.

Given the risk to farm animals and farm workers, what precautions are being taken on New Hampshire farms?

Agriculture experts say farms and state officials are taking this seriously.

There’s ongoing testing to monitor for bird flu, both in poultry flocks and dairy herds. Since last year, the federal government has required that lactating dairy cows be tested if they’re crossing state lines. Starting this month, there will also be routine testing at milk processing plants, which will alert public health authorities to any infections at local farms, said State Veterinarian Dr. Stephen Crawford.

Farms already employ a lot of “biosecurity” measures: wearing gloves, keeping track of visitors, sanitizing boots so people don’t spread pathogens from one farm to the next, and so on.

State officials say they’ve been in regular communication with dairy farms about what they can do to keep workers safe.

“We’re still considering this an animal health issue, not a human health issue,” said Sarah Allen, the state dairy specialist for the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.

What about people raising chickens in their backyard?

Crawford says this is his biggest piece of advice: “Keep your birds separated from wildlife.” That means keeping any backyard flocks away from other wild animals, especially ducks and geese. You probably also want to avoid keeping a bird feeder in your yard if you also have chickens, to minimize the risk of contact.

There are other steps you can take to protect against bird flu, as well. Washing your hands before and after feeding chickens is important all the time, not just when dealing with bird flu. It’s also a good idea to have a separate set of clothes and shoes that you use just for feeding your flock — so you’re not, for example, stepping in goose feces at the town park and then tracking it back to your chicken coop.

If you don’t have backyard poultry, it’s fine to leave your bird feeder up, said Grace McCollough, the community science project leader at New Hampshire Audubon.

“The risk to songbirds, wild songbirds, overall is low,” she said.

Bird flu has also been found in some domesticated cats. Here’s more information from NPR on how to protect your pets from the virus.

What should people do if they come across a sick bird?

If you’re a hunter or someone else who might have more frequent contact with wild birds, state wildlife officials say just exercise basic precautions. New Hampshire Fish and Game has more advice here.

If you come across a lot of dead birds or birds that seem sick, let the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game know so they can do testing.

What should people know about consuming poultry or dairy products?

Cooking eggs kills viruses like bird flu. Similarly, pasteurization in milk has been shown to destroy bird flu, so the milk you get from the supermarket should be safe.

Bird flu has been detected in raw milk, which doesn’t go through the same process to kill off germs. Public health officials around the country, including in New Hampshire, emphasize that drinking pasteurized milk is the safest way to go.

“We don’t recommend drinking raw milk because of the potential for other infections to be transmitted through raw milk,” Chan said, even if this particular virus hasn’t turned up yet in New Hampshire dairy cows.

Source link

New Hampshire

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Published

6 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Local News

Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.

A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.

Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.

Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.

In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.

During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.

When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.

Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.

While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.

As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.

While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.

“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.

Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.

Sign up for the Today newsletter

Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.

Source link

New Hampshire

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

Published

18 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.