Episode description

Last week, Parks Canada confirmed a dead goose in a Scarborough park tested positive for bird flu, raising concerns that with more birds flying north for spring, the virus will spread. 

Canada saw its first and only domestically-acquired human case in November, but in the U.S., at least 68 people have been reported infected in the last year, according to CDC data. One person has died from the illness. 

The poultry industries on both sides of the border have been grappling with the virus for years, and outbreaks have led to the culling of millions of birds in the last year. Now, the U.S. dairy industry is being impacted as herds of cattle in several states have fallen ill. 

Nicholas Florko, a staff writer with The Atlantic, joins the show to talk about the virus, how it’s spreading in the U.S. and why some people are worried that it could be the beginning of the next pandemic.