Avian flu confirmed in bald eagle found on P.E.I.

A case of avian flu has been confirmed in a bald eagle found on P.E.I.'s North Shore, the province announced Wednesday morning.

The virus is of the subtype H5N1. The province describes it as a very serious bird disease that spreads easily and quickly. It can infect both wild and domestic birds.

In rare cases, avian flu has caused illness in people who work with birds.

This detection follows confirmed findings of the same influenza strain in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Wildlife officials said it's certainly cause for concern, but not a surprise it has been found on P.E.I.

"At this point, we know that it's all down the eastern seaboard, well into the States," said Laura Bourque, a wildlife pathologist with the Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative.

"It's in wildlife and domestics. And so finding this virus in an eagle on P.E.I. is not that surprising to me. I expect that it's here, and if we haven't seen it in that many cases, it's just because we haven't been getting them in to do the testing."

On farms, the virus can cause symptoms of respiratory illness in birds with steep decline in productivity. The highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 causes high rates of mortality in poultry flocks. The Island has almost 450,000 domestic chickens.

"It's of great concern for myself and speaking for the other members in the industry," said poultry farmer Nathan Burns.

"Very concerned because it has catastrophic consequences."

Poultry farms already have federally-mandated biosecurity measures in place to prevent infection and spread. But in recent weeks, the province has been reminding the poultry industry and backyard flock owners to stay vigilant.  

"That includes things like trying to prevent contact between domestic birds and wild birds, just really paying attention to who's coming on and off your property and ensuring that all your equipment, feeders, waters, that sort of thing are very, very clean," said Jill Wood, the province's chief veterinary officer.

"We're asking people to pay really, really close attention to those aspects at this time."

Members of the public are being asked to help prevent disease spread by not handling or interacting with wild birds.

Any sick or dying wild birds should be reported to provincial fish and wildlife at 902-368-4683. Sick or dying domestic birds should be reported to a veterinarian.