The avian influenza strain H5N1 has spread through the United States, causing tens of millions of birds to be euthanized and worrying many in the scientific community, but the virus appears to have slowed in Rhode Island — for now.

According to the Wildlife Clinic of Rhode Island, which has been taking in and testing animals sick with the disease, new positive test results declined in March, to eight new cases last month, down from 30 positives in February.

“Fortunately, cases have drastically declined as we entered the spring season, and we have yet to have a positive case within the month of April,” clinic veterinarian Blaine Hymel wrote in an April 22 email to ecoRI News.

In addition to the decline in cases, there haven’t been any reported cases of H5N1 in domestic flocks in Rhode Island, according to state Department of Environmental Management spokesperson Evan LaCross.

“Reports of dead and sick wild birds in Rhode Island have also declined substantially,” LaCross wrote in an email to ecoRI News.

The seasonal dip in cases of bird flu in Rhode Island and nationally is normal because the virus doesn’t survive as well in warm weather, according to LaCross. “We expect this seasonal pattern to continue this summer,” he wrote.

Even though cases have declined, wildlife rehabilitator Sheida Soleimani said the problem hasn’t gone away.

“We shouldn’t let our guards down,” said the Congress of the Birds founder. Birds are still migrating to their spring and summer homes, potentially bringing disease with them.

And it’s not just bird flu that they’ll be bringing, Soleimani noted. Birds also act as carriers of West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), which just like bird flu can spread to humans. While H5N1 spreads from birds and other infected animals to humans through bodily fluids, West Nile virus and EEE spread from birds to humans through mosquitos.

With baby bird season in full swing — there are owlets and 11 baby mourning doves among the recovering birds in Soleimani’s Providence clinic — those who see and want to help fledglings need to be careful, she said.

Her recommendation, when someone finds a baby bird or an injured bird of any kind, is to reach out to Congress of the Birds or a wildlife rehabilitator first.

“Do not handle any injured birds without speaking with a wildlife rehabilitator first,” Soleimani said earlier this year, after a flock of domestic birds was euthanized in Rhode Island because of a bird flu outbreak. And the advice still stands, she said.

She suggested texting a photo of and message about the injured bird, and the clinic — often Soleimani herself — will follow up. “I will respond quickly,” she said.

Songbirds are much less likely to be infected, “so if someone finds a baby robin, that’s not really a concern,” she said, but waterfowl — ducks, loons, gulls — are particularly prone to avian flu.

Birds, dead or alive, should be handled with personal protective equipment (PPE): gloves, mask, goggles, even a visor or gown, if available. If disposing of a dead bird, triple-bag the remains in case it was an infected bird to prevent the spread of the disease.

“This disease is here and it’s not going anywhere,” said Soleimani, adding that she had swabbed a bird earlier that day that seemed like it could be infected. “Just because numbers are falling doesn’t mean that it’s gone.”