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The Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative Lab reports this year’s first avian influenza case in a wild bird was found in the Saskatoon region.
Wildlife biologist Erin Moffatt says most of the dead wild birds sent for testing have come from southern areas of the province.
Most of the dead birds being found now are Canada geese or snow geese. There were nine positive cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds located in Saskatchewan last year.
Moffatt says there are a few stages in the testing process.
"At that point, pathologists there would do an ecopsy, so they'd have a look at the internal organs, looking for signs of infection. They'll also collect a sample for PCR testing. That's sent over to Prairie Diagnostic Services for testing and then any positives are then sent to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for confirmatory testing."
Moffatt says if you find a dead bird or a group of dead birds, a call should be made to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment's general inquiry line.