There is a pox on wild turkeys in Maine.
It’s a virus that can make the meat of the game bird unsafe to eat and that can spread to domestic poultry.
Cases of avian — or turkey — pox are tracked closely by state wildlife officials. Most recently a case was reported in a wild turkey carcass found in the Sebago area.
A month into this year’s fall turkey season, only a few cases of avian pox have been reported to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Since each case could mean the harvested bird is unsafe to eat, officials want hunters to know that just because they shot an infected bird, they aren’t stuck with it.
“A hunter who has legally shot a diseased bird should contact us before they tag it,” said Kelsey Sullivan, biologist with Maine IF&W. “We understand they don’t want to eat an unhealthy bird, so they can then go out and take another bird.”
It causes wart-like growths primarily on the unfeathered parts of a turkey’s body — especially on the head and neck areas. Most birds survive, but on others severe lesions can form internally and be fatal.
The disease is transmitted by biting insects like mosquitoes and blackflies or by one bird coming into direct contact with an infected bird.
If the lesions are not present on the meat of an infected bird, it is safe to eat as long as it’s properly cooked, Sullivan said. But he added it’s never a bad idea to err on the side of caution.
“I personally would not eat it,” he said. “I once cut an infected bird open and it did not smell nice — the pox infections can compromise the bird’s immune system so other infections can get in that could make you sick.”
Between 2012 and 2014, the state was hit hard by the turkey pox with more than 150 birds reported with the infection. Sullivan said that was likely due to heavy populations of mosquitoes and blackflies during those two years.
In domestic poultry, turkey pox causes weight loss, poor growth and reduced egg production. Just like in the wild turkeys, it can make the poultry meat unsafe to eat.
Once the pox has infected one domestic bird, it can rapidly spread through an entire flock. There is no treatment for the disease, but there is a vaccine to prevent it.
To keep backyard poultry flocks safe from the disease, Sullivan said domestic birds should never be allowed to mingle with, or even walk in places where wild turkeys have recently occupied.
