A dog has died of avian flu following eating the carcass of a wild goose, a first in Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) revealed on Tuesday.
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“The domestic dog was infected with avian influenza following chewing a wild goose and died following developing clinical signs”, detailed the federal organization, stressing that a necropsy confirmed the diagnosis on April 3.
“The number of documented cases of H5N1 avian influenza in non-avian species, such as cats and dogs, is low, despite the fact that this virus has caused significant avian outbreaks globally in recent years. continued the CFIA.
To date, this is the only documented death of a dog from avian flu in the country.
Still, the CFIA has urged pet owners from coast to coast to be careful, including avoiding feeding their animals raw game bird or poultry meat.
This is not the first time that bird flu has spread to animals other than birds. Cases had also been reported in foxes in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, and in seals, dolphins and black bears in Quebec.
The announcement of the death of the first dog infected with avian flu coincided on Tuesday with the announcement of the detection of the disease in the carcasses of birds found in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto.
Last year, the disease spread to wild bird populations across Quebec, causing the death of thousands of birds and raising fears of the worst in commercial farms.
