Emmanuel The Emu Didn’t Actually Have Bird Flu

Exactly a week after announcing that her beloved emu, Emmanuel, had come down with a dangerous case of bird flu, owner Taylor Blake revealed he never had the virus.

“Emmanuel Todd Lopez tested negative for Avian Influenza at 2 separate labs, swab, fecal and blood. He does not have the virus, and is not actively shedding the virus,” Blake tweeted on Saturday, Oct. 22. She said he also tested negative for Eastern equine encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, chlamydia, and salmonella.

Instead, Emmanuel’s symptoms, which included “apparent nerve damage” in his right foot, fatigue, lack of appetite, weakness, and a twisted neck, were a result of stress, Blake said.

More than 50 birds in Blake’s Florida farm died in just three days following what she believes was the introduction of avian influenza via wild Egyptian geese; any remaining birds in her flock were euthanized by the state, according to her recent tweets. However, it’s unclear whether those birds were ever confirmed to have avian influenza.

“Emus are highly susceptible to stress. He was incredibly overwhelmed by the state coming in and euthanizing our flock. (Although it was necessary, it was still very stressful on him). He stopped eating the day they depopulated,” Blake wrote. “Something in my gut just told me that this wasn’t the end for him. So I kept fighting for him, and I don’t regret it. He never once had a single symptom of AI, other than not eating, which is often caused by stress in emus. It was just very coincidental timing.”

The news of what could have been the demise of one of TikTok’s favorite birds took the internet by storm. Photos of Blake kissing and cuddling Emmanuel without proper protection concerned virologists and animal handlers who immediately tried to warn the public that those behaviors can not only lead to Blake getting seriously ill, but also give rise to another pandemic.

People can contract avian influenza by touching their mouth, eyes, or nose after prolonged, close, and unprotected contact with infected birds’ saliva, feces, or bodily fluids. When a virus jumps from birds to humans, the germ could undergo genetic changes and spread more easily from person to person.

Not everyone who gets infected experiences symptoms, but those who do may feel mild illness, such as sore throat, eye redness, runny nose, body aches, headaches, and fatigue. More serious conditions that could require hospitalization, like pneumonia, are possible. Other less common symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, or seizures.