Public health officials are investigating avian influenza in birds.

Lambton Public Health announced via news release late Friday it is working with the Ontario Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to “contain, monitor and respond to the situation.”

Officials aren’t saying at this time where the birds have been found nor how many animals are involved.

Avian influenza is a viral disease that mostly affects domestic poultry and wildlife such as geese, ducks, and shore birds. No human cases of the virus have been reported at this time and only those who have worked with the affected birds are considered at risk.

“Although it can be easily spread amongst birds, avian influenza does not easily cross from birds to humans, and the risk of human-to-human transmission is even lower,” said Dr. Karalyn Dueck, Acting Medical Officer of Health for Lambton County in a news release.

Dueck says the risk of human infection remains low. People who handle bird should use precautions such as hand washing and wearing personal protective equipment. Dueck says you can’t get the virus from eating eggs or poultry but people should avoid handling wild birds. If you see a sick or dead bird you should call the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Centre at 1-800-673-4781.

Avian flu was first detected in Ontario in October. At the time, Cathy Furness, Ontario’s Chief Veterinary Officer, in a letter to a local poultry producer, said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency might “impose permitting requirements” to help fight the highly pathogenic avian influenza.”

Lambton poultry farmers also voiced concern about avian flu when Plympton-Wyoming was considering whether to allow backyard chickens in the municipality.

Scott Helps, who is an egg farmer in Plympton-Wyoming at the time urged councillors to nix the idea . “This is a complicated disease that is very serious, and I can’t stress it enough…. the compromising of the food system…that’s is in jeopardy.”

Helps said poultry producers who find it in their barns are forced to kill all the birds, sanitize the barns and wait a set period of time before any other birds can be brought in.

“I want to make sure you understand the severity of what happens when Avian Flu is detected. There are strict protocols that have to take place in order for them to be able to deal with that. I think it’s the number one concern,” he says.

Helps added officials have found the disease in other animal groups now and expressed concern where it would be found next.

Avian flu has been seen in Lambton and Chatham-Kent already. Linn Eves of the Bluewater Centre for Raptor Rehabilitation told The Independent in April she has been seeing an unusually high numbers of raptors like eagles with the disease. Few survive.

Eves said at the time the Lambton raptor centre was one of the few still accepting sick birds in Ontario.