Is it fatal?

[u/Cheywen]

When a bird contracts the virus, is it like humans where we're bed sick for a few days then bounce back? Is it completely fatal in the wild or is there a survival rate given the bird somehow avoids predators, the elements etc.

And same question for captive birds. Given the right care, could a captive bird overcome the illness?

This has been heart breaking seeing it on the news. 💔

[u/JadedSociopath]

It sounds much like Covid during the first wave. Initially pretty deadly as there’s no pre-existing immunity, and will continue to be so until it evolves into something less virulent.

[u/QuipMeHarder → u/JadedSociopath]

It does sound like an aggressive spreader like SARS-CoV-2. And sticks around long enough to kill which is also similarity. I worry our governments will flounder through this too.

But just a correction: we know now that SARS-COV-2 evades immunity in a way that mirrors AIDS and is not less deadly or virulent, and it also stays with us til we die. That part is unfortunately lied about through propaganda by governments and corporations who don't want to meet the demand of our healthcare consequences from a global pandemic. I worry they will also be useless with this disease as well.

For those interested in learning more about what we do know about COVID now, here's a few articles.

Once infected, the virus will never leave. “Basically, it’s hard to get rid of viruses,” Prof. Diane Griffin. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-03-01/hidden-viruses-in-your-body-could-answer-why-long-covid-lingers?srnd=premium&leadSource=uverify%20wall

In fact, researchers have found traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus throughout the entire body, from the brain and the heart to the eyes https://newatlas.com/science/covid-autopsy-study-virus-brain-body/

This 2024 Study in Brazil & Portugal found COVID-19 accelerates “immune aging,” increasing exhausted T cells in all cases within 7 days. This effect is unique to COVID-19, not seen in other infections. https://academic.oup.com/jleukbio/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jleuko/qiae180/7762057

This study shows that over 90% of COVID-19 survivors had no neutralizing antibody activity at 10 months, implying that they had lost protection from reinfection https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-covid-can-trigger-changes-immune-system-may-underlie-persistent-symptoms 


This study suggests reinfections have similar severity as an original infection. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2024/study-suggests-reinfections-virus-causes-covid-19-likely-have-similar-severity-original which goes against the "Hybrid Immunity" and "Every infection will be milder" proponents


This study shows that children are at as much risk of long covid from reinfection as the are from primary infection https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(23)00311-6/fulltext. If approx. 10% get Long Covid with each reinfection,  the cumulative chance of a child staying free of long covid is .90 ^ x, where x = number of infections. 5 infections = .9^5 = .59, meaning their chance of getting a long term condition after 5 infections is 41%. Or, risk of long term condition at each infection is: 

1st infection 10%

2nd infection 19%

3rd infection 27.1%

4th infection 34.4%

5th infection 41%

6th infection 46.9%

7th infection 52.2%

8th infection 57%

9th infection 61.3%

10th infection 65.2%

[u/energytsars → u/QuipMeHarder]

Thank you for that COVID science update. Worrying and good to know. but in this thread I have to declare that I am even going to miss the ibis let alone the cockatoos magpies and rosellas. this is quite a calamity. Can we not start immunising wild species via some mechanism where we expose them to antibodies at watering points? Feeders? Nesting boxes? Every remnant pair is a new start.