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The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is warning residents not to touch wild birds after confirming several geese in the region died from avian flu.
The health unit issued a warning Friday after three Canada geese recently found dead in two locations – in London and Strathroy – tested positive for the “highly pathogenic strain” of avian flu known as H5NX.
“We have seen that this is highly pathogenic,” said associate medical officer Joanne Kearon. “It can lead to very severe outcomes in the birds that get infected. However, the probability of it being transmitted from birds to humans is low.”
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The H5NX virus confirmed in the dead birds is avian influenza, but there is still further “typing” necessary to determine which strain of bird flu was found, Kearon said. She expects it will be a strain that is circulating widely.
“Given what we have seen in Ontario, in our local region, as well as across North America, when that information is available, I am expecting that it is going to be H5N1,” Kearon said.
Despite the low probability of transmission to humans, Kearon said the virus has been “very severe” in cases when a person has been infected, noting a B.C. teen became very ill after contracting the virus.
The No. 1 thing “people can do to prevent” transmission is “not contact wild birds,” Kearon said.
People who encounter dead birds should contact the Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative that will collect the carcass and arrange testing, she said. The agency can be reached at 1-866-673-4781.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has reported seven bird flu outbreaks at farms in the London region since Dec. 14, all of which remain active, according to its website. Four sites with outbreaks of H5N1 are in Oxford County, two are in Strathroy, and a seventh was reported on Jan. 3 in North Middlesex. The most recent outbreak reported in Ontario by the agency was on Jan. 10 in Wellington County, and it too remains active.
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In a previous interview with The Free Press, agency official Grant Loney said the virus can be devastating, for poultry, resulting in birds becoming sick very soon after exposure. Due to the ease with which the virus spreads many flocks are slaughtered to prevent further infection, which can be costly to farmers.
Migratory birds are spreaders of the virus. “Wild birds can come in contact with agricultural birds, and that is how the virus is being spread,” Kearon said.
The health unit doesn’t intend to report each bird that tests positive due to the prevalence of the virus, but it plans to notify the community “should public health guidance change and more precautions be required,” its news release stated.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
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