Testing confirms avian flu after hundreds of dead geese found near Lipton, Sask.

Hundreds of dormant geese recovered this outpouring successful fields adjacent Lipton, Sask., 90 kilometres northbound eastbound of Regina, died from avian influenza, reflecting a provincial uptick successful the deadly disease, according to the Ministry of Environment.

Tests completed earlier this period corroborate the birds died from H5, the highly pathogenic strain of avian flu.

Iga Stasiak, a wildlife wellness specializer with the ministry, said determination person been respective reports this outpouring of dormant flocks of geese. She said that in immoderate cases, determination were hundreds of dormant birds reported astatine sites.

"It is really rather antithetic to spot this standard of mortality," Stasiak said.

"With this caller strain it seems to impact birds much seriously, truthful we person seen accrued mortality successful chaotic vertebrate populations, which is concerning."

The fig of wild birds dying from avian flu is higher than normal, but hasn't reached 2022 levels, erstwhile the microorganism was caller to Canadian vertebrate populations, Stasiak said. 

3 farms nether quarantine

Avian influenza is dispersed done interaction with infected manure, provender and water. It's besides transmitted on covering and vehicles, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Symptoms successful birds see lethargy, tremors, gasping for enactment and abrupt death.

The affirmative avian flu tests successful the Lipton country were found in Ross geese, Stasiak said.

The CFIA has besides detected avian flu successful home poultry and subsequently placed 3 farms nether quarantine.

One of those farms is successful the RM of Lipton, adjacent the tract wherever the dormant Ross geese were found. That determination is listed connected the CFIA website arsenic a non-commercial, non-poultry premise.

A non-commercial poultry cognition successful the RM of Colonsay and a 3rd successful the RM of Indian Head are besides nether CFIA quarantine.

Poultry manufacture concerned

Michael Kautzman, enforcement manager of the Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan, said avian flu is worrisome and tin devastate poultry stock.

"Once they've been infected, the microorganism tends to enactment precise rapidly successful the birds and it tends to extremity up sidesplitting them … and it does hap precise quickly," Kautzman said.

"It's beauteous stressful connected farmers, it's beauteous stressful connected the industry."

Kautzman said his enactment has contacted poultry producers to punctual them to travel existing bio-security measures to assistance forestall corruption astatine different sites. Those measures see limiting visitors to farms, and cleaning vehicles, covering and footwear.

"It's thing you effort and mitigate, but it's ne'er 100 per cent nary substance what you do."

Kautzman said the CFIA is brought successful if birds get sick to effort to halt the spread.

Stasiak said the strain of avian flu detected successful the Lipton-area geese is the aforesaid 1 detected astatine a British Columbia ostrich farm.

Owners of that ostrich workplace person been warring a CFIA bid to cull 400 birds aft the microorganism was detected successful immoderate of the animals past year.

Trent Bollinger, a prof astatine the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and determination manager and pathologist astatine the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, confirmed determination has been an summation successful dormant birds coming successful for avian flu investigating and autopsies, but helium expects the numbers to commencement dropping arsenic the migratory play ends. 

"In Alberta they don't look to beryllium seeing the aforesaid benignant of summation successful mortalities," helium said.

"It's astir apt reflecting antithetic flyways of geese."

Bollinger said avian flu is an overwhelming viral corruption that attacks birds' tissue.

"It's a terrible systemic disease. It tin origin neurological damage, it tin origin respiratory signs it tin origin necrosis successful liver," helium said.

"The fearfulness is … the imaginable for alteration that volition effect successful transmission and casual dispersed successful different species, including people."