While bird flu is a concern, what do you do if a goose dies in your backyard? –CP24

Carolyn Roe didn't think much of it when a swan goose landed in her backyard in Richmond, British Columbia, on Halloween.

But after a few hours, it barely moved. Then I started shaking my head over and over again. About eight hours after she first saw the bird, it rolled over, started convulsing and died.

“It was very sad to see. In fact, it was really scary,” Ms Law said.

Lowe said she called a wildlife rescue group and was told that the symptoms suggested bird flu rather than physical injury, but that they could not be sure without testing.

Encounters like Roe's have come under new scrutiny after a British Columbia teenager tested positive for bird flu, the first human case presumed to have occurred in Canada. There is. The patient is in critical condition.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said at a news conference Tuesday that the source of the infection is not clear.

Experts and health officials say the risk of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza strain remains low, but people should avoid contact with sick or dead birds.

Health Canada said in a statement: “People who handle animals or work in environments contaminated by animals should take other personal protective measures to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading respiratory infections. We should take preventive measures such as this.”

Concerns about avian influenza have increased in recent years, with the virus resulting in the culling of millions of poultry across North America.

As migratory birds head south for the winter, British Columbia has seen the number of cases in commercial flocks surge to more than 20 in recent weeks.

Brian Ward, an infectious disease microbiologist at McGill University, said it's impossible to speculate whether the geese in Roe's backyard were infected with influenza, but “if an increasing number of ducks and geese are being found dead, , the possibility of infection is very high.” infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza. ”

Ward said it's concerning that authorities don't know how a sick B.C. teenager contracted H5N1, and Henry said the boy had no known contact with a poultry farm. He said that he had not.

But Ward said human transmission in Canada is “almost inevitable” given the spread of the virus in North America and Europe in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control has announced that there have been 46 human cases of avian influenza in the United States, but no human-to-human transmission has been confirmed.

Health Canada said in a statement that current evidence in the country shows “the risk to the general public remains low.”

“To date, no evidence of sustained human-to-human spread of the virus has been found in any of the confirmed cases worldwide,” the ministry said. “Avian influenza A (H5N1) is rarely transmitted to humans, usually after close contact with infected birds or highly contaminated environments.”

The agency's website says people can't become infected by eating fully cooked chicken, eggs or meat.

Henry said the only case in Canada was recorded in Alberta in 2014, and the person likely contracted the virus while traveling to China.

But Henry acknowledged the risks posed by wild birds.

“Recognizing that this virus primarily circulates among wild geese and ducks, one of the important things we must do now is to ensure that if we come into contact with sick or dead birds, “Don't touch it directly (and) keep your pets away,” she said, noting that a dog in Ontario was infected by chewing on a dead bird.

Henry said humans can become infected by “inhaling the virus in aerosols or droplets and getting it into the eyes, the back of the throat, the nose or deep into the lungs.”

“There's very little that could have been transmitted from person to person. This virus is reassuring in a sense in that it doesn't seem to be easily transmitted between people if you get infected, but it's a very serious virus. “It can cause serious illness in young people,” she said.

Henry said the B.C. ” he said.

His office announced Tuesday that people should report dead or sick poultry or livestock to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's animal health unit and any encounters with wild birds to the B.C. Wild Bird Mortality Line.

The report said people who have been exposed to sick or dead birds or who have come into contact with farms where avian influenza has been confirmed should be on the lookout for flu-like symptoms.

“If you develop symptoms within 10 days of contact with a sick or dead animal, tell your health care provider that you have been in contact with a sick animal and are concerned about bird flu. ” states the report. “This will help us give you appropriate advice about testing and treatment. Stay home and away from others while you have symptoms.”

Ward also advised people who come across dead birds to call authorities instead of disposing of them themselves.

“But if it's on your property and you want to dispose of it, it's very important to make sure you wear a mask and gloves, put it in a plastic bag as soon as possible and do everything you can to avoid aerosols.” “It makes sense,” he said, noting that H5N1 is a respiratory virus.

Lowe said her biggest concern was for her dog, which came within a few feet of the dying goose.

“We didn't want to go near that,” she said.

But later that night, her husband took matters into his own hands.

Wearing gloves and a mask, he double-bagged the dead bird and threw it in the trash. “I felt it was a little disrespectful, but that's what you would do,” Lo said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.