New Brunswick reports case of avian flu

New Brunswick has reported a case of avian flu in Riverview, a week after the disease was discovered on P.E.I.

The Canadian Wildlife Service confirmed the case on Monday in a greater black-backed gull.

Avian flu is a viral infection that can easily spread among birds. Some wild bird species, like ducks, can infect other birds without getting sick, though other bird species can become ill and die.

The chances of humans getting sick from avian flu are low, though people who work around birds should take care, the province said in a release.

Avian flu was confirmed in a bald eagle on P.E.I. on March 2, following discoveries in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.

New Brunswick had previously warned bird owners that avian flu had been reported elsewhere in Atlantic Canada.

"As a general precaution, people should not handle wild birds, dead or alive," the province said in a release.

Avian flu was initially suggested as a potential cause for the dozens of dead ducks that recently washed ashore on Grand Manan, but this was ruled out.