Wild birds found in southern Bruce County test positive for bird flu

FILE - Canada geese walk on a frozen beach (Karel Bock/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Wild birds found dead near the Lake Huron shoreline in southern Bruce County have tested positive for avian influenza (also known as bird flu, or H5N1).

Bruce Power collected the samples in collaboration with wildlife authorities and University of Guelph after seeing several deceased waterfowl north of the nuclear site.

“We would like to thank Bruce Power for proactively working to determine the cause of this mortality event involving a number of waterfowl and for notifying Grey Bruce Public Health about the test results,” said Senior Public Health Manager Andrew Barton.

The risk of bird flu transferring from birds to people remains very low, and nearly all human infections recorded by public health authorities have occurred in people that work closely with livestock. There is no evidence of extended person to person spread.

Grey Bruce Public Health is not the first local health unit to report cases of bird flu this year, although they are the first to confirm it’s presence in wildlife. Lambton Public Health has confirmed two cases locally, with the most recent reported on March 25.

GBPH cautioned that while at this time there has been no human cases of the virus attributed to wild birds in North America, it’s important to minimize risk by reducing opportunities for exposure.

“Even though human infections with avian influenza are very rare, it’s always advantageous to remind people to take steps to minimize the risk of potential exposure to this virus, such as by avoiding contact with dead or sick wild birds or animals," said Barton.

Avian influenza has been detected in wild birds in every province and territory in Canada.

The first domestically acquired case of H5N1 in a human in Canada was reported by Public Health Agency of Canada in November 2024.