Hundreds of dead geese found this spring in fields near Lipton, Sask., 90 kilometres north east of Regina, died from avian influenza, reflecting a provincial uptick in the deadly disease, according to the Ministry of Environment.
Tests completed earlier this month confirm the birds died from H5, the highly pathogenic strain of avian flu.
Iga Stasiak, a wildlife health specialist with the ministry, said there have been several reports this spring of dead flocks of geese. She said that in some cases, there were hundreds of dead birds reported at sites.
“It is actually quite unusual to see this scale of mortality,” Stasiak said.
“With this recent strain it seems to affect birds more seriously, so we have seen increased mortality in wild bird populations, which is concerning.”
The number of wild birds dying from avian flu is higher than normal, but hasn’t reached 2022 levels, when the virus was new to Canadian bird populations, Stasiak said.
3 farms under quarantine
Avian influenza is spread through contact with infected manure, feed and water. It’s also transmitted on clothing and vehicles, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
Symptoms in birds include lethargy, tremors, gasping for breath and sudden death.
The positive avian flu tests in the Lipton area were found in Ross geese, Stasiak said.
The CFIA has also detected avian flu in domestic poultry and subsequently placed three farms under quarantine.
One of those farms is in the RM of Lipton, near the site where the dead Ross geese were found. That location is listed on the CFIA website as a non-commercial, non-poultry premise.
A non-commercial poultry operation in the RM of Colonsay and a third in the RM of Indian Head are also under CFIA quarantine.
Poultry industry concerned
Michael Kautzman, executive director of the Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan, said avian flu is worrisome and can devastate poultry stock.
“Once they’ve been infected, the virus tends to act very quickly in the birds and it tends to end up killing them … and it does happen very quickly,” Kautzman said.
“It’s pretty stressful on farmers, it’s pretty stressful on the industry.”
Kautzman said his organization has contacted poultry producers to remind them to follow existing bio-security measures to help prevent infection at other sites. Those measures include limiting visitors to farms, and cleaning vehicles, clothing and footwear.
“It’s something you try and mitigate, but it’s never 100 per cent no matter what you do.”
Kautzman said the CFIA is brought in if birds get sick to try to stop the spread.
Stasiak said the strain of avian flu detected in the Lipton-area geese is the same one detected at a British Columbia ostrich farm.
Owners of that ostrich farm have been fighting a CFIA order to cull 400 birds after the virus was detected in some of the animals last year.
Trent Bollinger, a professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and regional director and pathologist at the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, confirmed there has been an increase in dead birds coming in for avian flu testing and autopsies, but he expects the numbers to start dropping as the migratory season ends.
“In Alberta they don’t seem to be seeing the same kind of increase in mortalities,” he said.
“It’s probably reflecting different flyways of geese.”
Bollinger said avian flu is an overwhelming viral infection that attacks birds’ tissue.
“It’s a severe systemic disease. It can cause neurological damage, it can cause respiratory signs it can cause necrosis in liver,” he said.
“The fear is … the potential for change that will result in transmission and easy spread in other species, including people.”
