A PET dog has died after testing positive for bird flu, health officials have said.
The dog, from Ontario, Canada, was infected after chewing on a wild goose and developed symptoms and died.
GettyA pet dog has died after testing positive for bird flu[/caption]
How bird flu could mutate to make it spread more effectively in humans
An autopsy showed the dog’s respiratory system was affected, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Tuesday.
“It is the only case of its kind in Canada,” it said in a statement.
“Based on the current evidence in Canada, the risk to the general public remains low and current scientific evidence suggests that the risk of a human contracting avian influenza from a domestic pet is minor,” it added.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has previously warned dog owners to keep a close eye on their pets while out walking near coastlines amid the outbreak of avian flu.
“Although the risk of your dog contracting AI is extremely low, your dog could become contaminated and spread it to other areas. Also dead and dying birds could carry a range of other diseases which might present a health risk to your dog,” a charity spokesperson said.
The virus has wiped out millions of birds worldwide over the last two years, but it also affects other animals including seals, otters, harbour porpoises and foxes
Just last month, the virus killed two dolphins in Devon and Pembrokeshire.
It comes as experts fear the bug could mutate making it even more harmful to humans than it currently is.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) warned mammals could act as “mixing vessels” for different viruses, which could lead to new variant that is “more harmful” to humans.
The H5N1 strain already has a fatality rate of around 50 per cent among people – 870 people have been infected with bird flu in the past 20 years and 457 of these died.
Scientists are calling on the Government to create a new bird flu vaccine before the virus learns to spread more efficiently among humans.
The 10 symptoms of bird flu in humans
According to the NHS, the main symptoms of bird flu in humans can appear very quickly and include:
a very high temperature or feeling hot or shiveryaching musclesheadachea cough or shortness of breathdiarrhoeasicknessstomach painchest painbleeding from the nose and gumsconjunctivitis
How to protect your pets from bird flu
While the risk to pet dogs from avian influenza is usually very low. But it’s still worth protecting your animal:
not feed pets (e.g, dogs or cats) any raw meat from game birds or poultry
not allow pets to consume or play with dead wild birds found outside
contact their veterinarian if they have questions about their pet’s health
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency