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.

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New Hampshire

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran overtakes the foreign policy debate in Washington, two Democratic governors with potential 2028 presidential aspirations — Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear — recently traveled to New Hampshire, introducing themselves to the state’s famously engaged voters. The two weighed in on the war and both criticized and questioned President Trump’s strategy and endgame.

“If a president is going to take a country into war, and risk the lives of American troops and Americans in the region, he has to have a real justification and not one that seems to change every five to 10 hours,” Beshear told CBS News after a Democratic fundraiser in Keene.

“This President seems to use force before ever trying diplomacy, and he has a duty to sell it to the American people and to address Congress with it,” Beshear continued. “He hasn’t done any of that. In fact, it appears there isn’t even a plan for what success looks like. He’s gone from regime change to strategic objectives and now is talking about unconditional surrender, which isn’t realistic where he is.”

Beshear also said he thought that Congress should have reined in Mr. Trump’s war powers.

“He is trying to ignore Congress. He’s trying to even ignore the American people,” Beshear said.

He went on to note that the president’s State of the Union address took place “three — four days before he launched this attack,” and Mr. Trump “didn’t even have the respect to tell the American people the threat that he thought Iran posed to us.”

Last week, both the House and the Senate failed to pass resolutions to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers and stop him from taking further military action against Iran without congressional support.

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks with voters in Keene, New Hampshire, on March 7, 2026.

Anne Bryson

For Newsom, the war with Iran constitutes part of a broader criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At an event last Tuesday in Los Angeles, Newsom had compared Israel to an “apartheid state.” Later, in New Hampshire, he sought to clarify his comment.

“I was specifically referring to a Tom Friedman [New York Times] column last week, where Tom used that word of apartheid as it relates to the direction Bibi is going, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank,” Newsom explained during a book tour event Thursday night in Portsmouth. “I’m very angry, with what he is doing and why he’s doing it, what he’s going to ultimately try to do to the Supreme Court there, what he’s trying to do to save his own political career.”

Friedman wrote that at the same time that the U.S. and Israel are prosecuting a war in Iran, within Israel, Netanyahu’s government has undertaken efforts to annex the West Bank, driving Palestinians from their homes; fire the attorney general who is leading the prosecution against Netanyahu for corruption; and block the government’s attempt to establish a commission to examine the failures that led up to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Jews by Hamas.

CBS News has reached out to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.

On Iran, Newsom said, “I’m very angry about this war, with all due respect, you know, not because I’m angry the supreme leader is dead. Quite the contrary. I’m not naive about the last 37 years of his reign. Forty-seven years since ’79 — the revolution,” Newsom said. “But I’m also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of why? Why now? What’s the endgame?”

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with political commentator Jack Cocchiarella at an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on March 5, 2026.

Anne Bryson

Many attendees at Newsom’s book event said that the situation in Iran is a top-of-mind issue for them, too. Some said they’re “horrified” by what is happening.

29-year-old Alicia Marr told CBS News she decided to attend Newsom’s event because of his social media response to the war with Iran.

“There was one spot left, and I decided to pick it up, and it was due to his response to the war, that it is just unacceptable, and I would agree with that,” Marr said.

While some voters like Marr are eager to hear about where potential candidates stand on foreign policy, many at Newsom’s event said they care most about how potential candidates plan to address domestic issues.

“I’m more focused on getting the middle class back on track and fighting the oligarchy, and I’m less invested in international issues,” said Anita Alden, who also attended Newsom’s event,

“I wouldn’t call myself America first, but we have so many problems at home that are my priority,” she told CBS News.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who may also be weighing another White House bid, told Fox 2 Detroit last week that she “unequivocally opposes” the Trump administration’s military action in Iran and urged Congress to take action.

“If we want to stop Donald Trump with this random decision that he has arrived at, then Congress must act, and Congress must act immediately. The American people do not want our sons and daughters to go into this unauthorized war of choice,” Harris said.

Mr. Trump has lashed out against Democrats who have pushed back on his Iran strategy, calling them “losers” last week and arguing that they would criticize any decision he made on Iran.

“If I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, that you should have done this,” the president said.

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New Hampshire

Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.

Published

24 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.

Local News

Police say the Attleboro man was driving 104 mph in a 55 mph zone on Route 202 near in Rindge, New Hampshire.

A Massachusetts man was arrested late Wednesday night after police say he was driving more than 100 mph on a New Hampshire roadway.

Officers with the Rindge Police Department stopped a vehicle shortly after 11 p.m. on Route 202 near Sears Drive in Rindge following a report of a car traveling at excessive speed, according to a statement from Chief Rachel Malynowski.

The vehicle, a 2020 Kia Stinger, was spotted traveling at 104 mph in a posted 55 mph zone, Malynowski said.

The driver, a 21-year-old man from Attleboro, was arrested and charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, according to police.

He is scheduled to be arraigned April 5. If convicted, the man faces a fine of at least $750, in addition to the court’s penalty assessment, and a 90-day license suspension, Malynowski said.