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Thousands of migratory bird corpses washed up on eastern Canadian shores this week, and preliminary investigations showed the birds had died of bird flu.
Since May 2022, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed 13 positive cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Newfoundland, eastern Canada.
Environment and climate change Canada is conducting further research to confirm that seabird deaths are linked to bird flu, said Peter Thomas, a wildlife biologist at the center.
Dead herring gulls, Icelandic gulls, ravens and American crows were most affected by the flu, Thomas added.
Avian influenza viruses are contagious and can affect domestic and wild birds worldwide, according to the Canadian Wildlife Service.
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The Canadian Wildlife Service is working closely with the provincial governments of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative to contain the spread.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is also spreading rapidly on Vancouver Island, infecting birds such as great horned owls, bald eagles, great blue herons, ducks, geese and even crows, according to the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“Every day we get calls saying 10 people have died,” said Elizabeth Melnick of the Elizabeth Wildlife Center in British Columbia.
“National wildlife centers usually choose to save the dying because the city collects the dead,” she said.
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Avian influenza is a deadly respiratory pathogen and poses a serious threat to the poultry industry, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. It spreads naturally among wild waterfowl around the world and can infect poultry and other bird and animal species.
According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, wild birds should not be handled when sick or dead because pet birds can catch bird flu and spread the disease to humans.