Carolyn Law didn’t really think much of it when a snow goose landed in her Richmond, British Columbia, backyard on Halloween.

But a few hours later, he had barely moved. Then he started moving his head repeatedly. About eight hours after first seeing the bird, it rolled over, began convulsing and died.

“It was a pretty sad thing to see, actually, really scary,” Law said.

Law said she called a wildlife rescue group and was told the symptoms suggested bird flu rather than physical injury, but without testing this could not be confirmed.

Encounters like Law’s are facing new scrutiny after a British Columbia teenager tested positive for bird flu, the first suspected case of human infection to occur in Canada. The patient is in critical condition.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said at a news conference Tuesday that the source of the infection was unclear.

Experts and health authorities say that while the risk of human infection with the H5N1 strain of bird flu remains low, people should avoid contact with sick or dead birds.

“People who work with animals or in environments contaminated by animals should take precautions, including using other personal protective measures to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading respiratory infectious diseases,” Health Canada said in a press release.

Concerns about bird flu have increased in recent years, with the virus leading to the culling of millions of poultry in North America.

Infections among commercial flocks have jumped to more than 20 in British Columbia in recent weeks as migratory birds fly south for the winter.

Brian Ward, an infectious disease microbiologist at McGill University, said he couldn’t speculate whether the goose in Law’s yard had the flu, but “it’s possible that if increasing numbers of ducks and geese are found dead, then they are very likely to have been infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Ward said it’s concerning that authorities don’t know how the sick British Columbia teen caught H5N1, with Henry saying the teen had no known contact with poultry farms.

But Ward said human infection in Canada was “almost inevitable,” given the spread of the disease in recent years across North America and Europe. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says there have been 46 human cases of bird flu in the United States, although there has been no known human-to-human spread.

Health Canada said in a statement that current evidence in the country shows “the risk to the general public remains low.”

“To date, there has been no evidence of sustained person-to-person spread of the virus in any of the cases identified globally,” the department said. “Human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) is rare and usually occurs after close contact with infected birds or highly contaminated environments.”

The agency’s website says humans cannot become infected by eating well-cooked poultry, eggs or meat.

Henry said the only other case in Canada was recorded in Alberta in 2014, in a person who likely contracted the virus while traveling to China.

But Henry recognized the risk posed by wild birds.

“One of the important things we need to do right now, knowing that this virus is circulating primarily in wild birds, geese and ducks, (is) to make sure that if you are in contact with sick or dead birds, you don’t touch them directly (and) keep pets away,” she said, noting that in Ontario, a dog was infected after biting a dead bird.

Henry said humans can become infected by “inhaling the virus in aerosol form, droplets that get into the eyes, back of the throat, nose or deep into the lungs.”

“There are very few that could have been transmitted from person to person, so in some ways that’s reassuring, in the sense that this virus doesn’t seem to spread easily between people if they contract infections, but it also causes very serious illnesses, especially in young people,” she said.

Henry said it’s very likely the B.C. teen’s infection occurred due to exposure to a sick animal or something in the environment, but it’s a “real possibility » that they will never be able to determine the source.

His office said Tuesday that people should report dead or sick poultry or livestock to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s animal health office and that encounters involving wild birds should be reported to BC Wild Bird Mortality Line.

It says anyone exposed to sick or dead birds, or who has been in contact with farms where avian flu has been confirmed, should monitor for flu-like symptoms.

“If you experience symptoms within 10 days of exposure to sick or dead animals, tell your health care provider that you have been in contact with sick animals and are concerned about avian flu,” the statement says. press release. “This will help them give you appropriate advice on testing and treatment. Stay home and away from others while you have symptoms.”

Ward also advised people who come across a dead bird to call authorities instead of disposing of it themselves.

“But if it’s on your property and you want to get rid of it, then wearing a mask and gloves, putting it in a plastic bag as soon as possible and doing everything you can to avoid aerosols is all right. makes sense,” he said, emphasizing that H5N1 is a respiratory virus.

Law said his biggest concern was for his dog coming within feet of the dying goose.

“We didn’t want to go near it,” she said.

But later that night, her husband took matters into his own hands.

Wearing gloves and a mask, he double-bagged the dead bird and put it in the trash, “which seemed a little unceremonious to me, but I guess that’s what you would do ” Law said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 13, 2024.