Death of thousands of Salton Sea birds increases health concerns

A local environmental organization reacted to thousands of Salton Sea birds dying this month. The Department of Fish and Game said it’s Avian Cholera.

Comite Civico del Valle Director Jose Luis Olmedo said, “We don’t know whether it’s a result of the sea or something external but it does bring an urgent need for attention now.”

Olmedo said it could be a sign of a bigger crisis in the making.

“It does bring to reality what we’ve been saying all along, what everybody has been saying all along, Salton Sea needs attention, it needs immediate resources. It needs accelerated funding, accelerated interventions,” Olmedo said.

Jeff Lamoure, Deputy Director for Imperial County Environmental Health, said there’s no public health risk in the area.

“The bacteria itself is more in line with a bird-to-bird transmission and it’s not a bird-to-human, so, yes, it is safe for humans to go out into the area,” Lamoure said.

However, they Lamoure said they are concerned and are getting more information about the ongoing situation.

We spoke to some locals who said they didn’t feel safe going near the water before and they don’t feel any safer now.

“It is very concerning to us,” Olmedo said.