A white-sided dolphin, found dead near Rimouski, is said to have contracted avian flu. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is awaiting the results of a necropsy to confirm this “suspect case” of H5N1 in a mammal.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
A first PCR test was carried out on the animal at the beginning of September, at the Quebec Center for Wild Animal Health (CQSAS). The test revealed the presence of the bird flu virus in the animal, but confirmation from the CFIA is still awaited.
“The dolphin had lesions that suggest it is a case of avian flu, explains the Dr Stéphane Lair, director of CQSAS. The lesions are not as obvious as those found in seals, but we are still talking about brain lesions and necrosis in various organs. »
Since the arrival of avian flu in Quebec in the spring, fifteen harbor seals and a red fox have been diagnosed with the disease in the province. Elsewhere in Canada, striped skunks and an American mink have also contracted the virus.
In the case of Quebec seals, they would have eaten birds infected with H5N1, suggests the Dr The air. “For the dolphin, we don’t know at all. It’s not usual,” he said.
A bear and her affected cubs
A bear and her cubs also contracted H5N1 in Forillon National Park in late spring.
On June 14, visitors reported the presence of a bear with strange behavior in the Parc de la Gaspésie. The animal was seen walking between vehicles. He went down to a fishing harbour, he swam around in circles and when he got out of the water, he bumped into a pole.
On the same day, a second report was made, roughly in the same area, for cubs that seemed to be looking for their mother. Then a third report made it possible to find the adult bear. “The report mentioned a bear that was dying in a ditch on the side of the road. When our team arrived on the scene, the animal was having difficulty breathing, it was having spasms and it was no longer responding to signals,” explains Mathieu Côté, the park’s resource conservation manager.
The Forillon National Park veterinarian immediately suspected a case of avian flu. In the spring, several carcasses of seabirds – such as northern gannets and common eiders – were found on the banks of the park. Screening tests determined that they had H5N1.
It was suspected that the bear may have fed on an infected bird. In fact, we even found carcasses that were eaten, but we don’t know if it was by the bear in question or by another animal.
Mathieu Côté, Resource Conservation Manager, Forillon National Park
The mother and two of her cubs were anesthetized and euthanized. A necropsy confirmed that they did indeed have bird flu. Wildlife officers were unable to locate a third cub, but are confident it must have died in the wild from H5N1 or the absence of its mother.
The virus could adapt to humans
The Dr Stéphane Lair affirms that the cases of H5N1 detected in mammals are of particular interest to Public Health, which wonders if the virus could become fatal for humans. “For the moment, the virus does not seem to have a high level of pathogenicity”, assures the expert.
“But that could change. It is a virus that is known to mutate and to make combinations between two viruses. There is a possibility that one day it will adapt to humans. But for now, this strain does not seem very pathogenic for humans,” he repeats.
Dolphins in Quebec?
“Dolphins are often associated with warm waters, but there are species specific to cold waters. This is the case for the white-sided dolphin and the white-beaked dolphin,” explains Mélissa Greene, head naturalist of the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals. White-sided dolphins are not considered an endangered species. They are nearly 12,000 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. “Every fall, there are some who venture into the estuary, as far as Tadoussac. Sometimes they’re alone, but other times they’re in big shoals,” notes Mme Greene. Just a few weeks ago, observers noticed a school of around 400 white-sided dolphins off the estuary.
Learn more
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- 252
- Number of positive cases – suspected or confirmed – of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds or mammals in Quebec, since April 2022
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- 18
- Number of domestic poultry flocks affected by an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Quebec since April 2022. Thirteen of these premises are commercial farms.
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency
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- 191
- Number of domestic poultry flocks affected by an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Canada, since the beginning of the year
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- 3.23 million
- Estimated number of domestic birds infected with avian influenza since the beginning of the year in Canada. These were euthanized to prevent the spread of the disease.
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency