BATON ROUGE — H5N1, more commonly known as Bird Flu, is causing an uptick in deaths in wild birds across the state, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said Tuesday.

The resurgence in the pathogen is partially due to fall migrations. Many different species of wild birds can be infected with the disease, with geese and other waterfowl being particularly susceptible.

LDWF said that while this strain of Bird Flu is a minimal threat to humans, sick birds should not be handled. Additionally, sick birds should not be commingled with other birds. LDWF added that mammals are, for the most part, resistant to H5N1 but rare fatal infections have been documented in dogs, cats, foxes, black bears and even dolphins.

Sick or dead birds should be reported to regional LDWF offices.