Officials warn public to steer clear of sick, dead animals after avian flu detected at Rouge Park

Water birds at Rouge Park.

Officials are warning the public to be vigilant and use “common sense” after avian influenza was recently detected in Canadian geese at Rouge National Urban Park.

In a post on social media, Parks Canada said one case of Highly Pathologenic Avian Influenza, subtype H5N1, has been confirmed at the 19,500-acre green space in southeast Scarborough.

There are also five suspected cases of the disease, which is caused by the influenza A virus, at Rouge Park, the national agency said.

Jory Mullen, the park’s ecosystem scientist and its Wildlife Emergency Response Team lead, told CTV News Toronto that they recently received a call about a dead bird that was found in the park. Its remains were sent to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative for a necropsy, also known as an animal autopsy, as well as a histopathology, which is the diagnosis and study of diseases of the tissues. That’s when it was confirmed that the bird in question had avian influenza, she said.

“And then shortly after, within a week and a half, we had an extra five suspected cases,” Mullen said, adding they are also concerned about “mass outbreaks” outside of the park’s boundaries.

“So it was like really rapid all of a sudden, and we haven’t had any reports since then, which is good, but we know it’s still there. We just aren’t seeing them.”

Mullen said the viral infection can spread quickly, especially when birds congregate, as is currently the case with the colder weather.

Avian influenza, which she noted can be contracted by other animals and even humans, is also often seen among bird populations during migratory times of the year, like now.

Mullen went on to say that avian flu has also been found in healthy birds, even those who have built up an immunity to it. Those who are ill or who have compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable to contracting the virus, she said.

Because the disease is so transmittable, Mullen is urging people who visit Rouge Park with their dogs to keep them leashed and to stay far away from sick or dead animals.

She pointed to one case in 2023 where a dog in Oshawa chewed on a dead goose and later died later of the virus.

“Totally tragic, and I mean, most people honestly wouldn’t have known that that was even a risk,” she said.

“And most people, when they hear avian influenza, assume it’s isolated to birds and it’s not. Mammals definitely can get it as well, including humans. So it is zoonotic, meaning that it can transfer from animals to humans, and it’s epizootic, meaning it can transfer between wildlife populations.”

Mullen said the risk of a pet or a human being contracting avian flu from a dead bird or mammal in the wild is possible as the virus can last “quite a long time in perfect conditions.”

“It depends on like the surface, but yeah, upwards of months even it can be latent,” she said, pointing to the presence of bird flu in moist areas like mucous membranes.

“If you were to touch a bird species with your bare hands and maybe touch your eye or your mouth, that would be a transmission route. And nobody should be doing that anyway, but we are telling the public avoid approaching sick or dead wildlife and call us. We have a designated team that deals with that.”

Toronto Zoo prepared for avian flu

The Toronto Zoo (TZ), which is located within Rouge Park, said it has a “series of contingency plans” in place when it comes to what it calls “foreign animal diseases.”

“One of these plans relates specifically to highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu. The H5N1 variant of HPAI has been circulating globally for years now and is responsible for a pandemic that, tragically, has caused the deaths of many millions of birds – both domestic and wild – around the world,” Dr. Nic Masters, the Toronto Zoo’s director of wildlife health, told CTV News Toronto.

“To protect the wild birds in our care at TZ we have been operating this HPAI contingency plan since this threat emerged.”

Masters said a year ago the zoo “moved to a position where we anticipate the H5N1 virus to be present in the vicinity of the zoo – we are situated in the beautiful Rouge National Urban Park which is home to many migratory and resident birds that can act as reservoirs for the virus,” he said.

“So, recent cases of HPAI being confirmed in wild birds in the Toronto area have not changed our approach.

He added that a number of precautions are being taken to reduce the risk of the virus being transmitted to the wild birds in their care.

They include:

• having staff who work with susceptible animals having dedicated work uniforms and personal protective equipment as well as a high standard of hygiene
• separating guests from susceptible animals through mesh and other unobtrusive barriers as well as managing guest-animal encounters appropriately.
• sourcing and preparing food by their dedicated Nutrition Science team to avoid any risk of HPAI-infected food entering the chain
• taking habitat-specific measures to keep free-living wild birds separate from birds in our care
• appropriately handling any sick, injured, or dead wild birds found on site are and operating post-mortem examinations and surveillance for HPAI with the help of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative

“Although HPAI can infect people, the risk is extremely low. Pandemics such as this are one of the reasons why zoos are so important in maintaining healthy insurance populations of endangered birds from around the world,” Masters added.

People urged to use “common sense” around sick, dead animals: doctor

During an interview with CTV News Toronto, infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch urged members of the public to use “common sense” if they happen to encounter a sick or dead animal.

“Don’t go near or touch sick or dead animals, it’s as simple as that. And as long as people adhere to those rules, you’ll be just fine,” said Bogoch, who noted that the risk to the general public of contracting avian flu is “extremely low,” if proper precautions are taken.

He added that he’s not aware of any cases of the disease in Canada involving humans at this time.

Bogoch said the concern with avian flu is that it has “epidemic and pandemic potential,” which is why every case is taken “very seriously and watch[ed] very closely, because it does have the potential to spread.”

He added that outbreaks of avian flu can impact the food chain, pointing to the devastation they have caused at poultry farms. He noted that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been quick to address any outbreaks.

“We haven’t seen widespread issues in Canada, but of course, it is here from time to time and outbreaks are quelled quickly,” he said, adding that in the United States dairy cow herds have been hard hit by avian flu.

Avian flu also found at Tommy Thompson Park

Last month, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) announced that two snowy owls found dead in late December at Tommy Thompson Park tested positive for bird flu. The conservation authority could not confirm that the strain of the disease was H5N1.

The TRCA said it is monitoring for other dead or ill birds at the downtown Toronto park and is urging locals to contact them or the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative if they see any. Birds that are still alive and accessible by land should be reported to the Toronto Wildlife Centre, providing details like the bird’s species, if possible, the exact location, time and date, and photos.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Alex Arsenych and Rahim Ladhani, and The Canadian Press