Province issues blue-green algae advisory for St. John River

The New Brunswick government has issued a blue-green algae advisory for a100-kilometre stretch of the St. John River between Fredericton and Woodstock.

Cristin Muecke, the deputychief medical officer of health, says blue-green algae has been confirmed in that area and people need to be aware of the potential healthrisks of exposure, which can includeskin, eye and throat irritation, or gastrointestinal illness.

"We certainly do recognize that it's possible it could be elsewhere, that it could move, and we will update our advisories as we get more evidence of that," she told CBC News on Thursday.

New Brunswick government issues blue-green algae advisory

5 years ago

Duration 1:32

This is what else deputy chief medical officer Cristin Muecke had to say about the blue-green algae advisory.

The advisory comes more than a week after Sandy Kitchen-Brewer's 16-week-old dog Flint died after swimming in the St. John River.

Flint's death has not been conclusively linked to the algae, which is also known ascyanobacteria.

Someblue-green algae produce toxins that can be be deadly to pets within 30 minutes.

Muecke said the algae in the river looks different than typical algae blooms.

Instead of ascum on the surface, or a coloured hue, it's in the form of so-calledbenthic mats clumps of organic material that originate at the bottom of the river, break off and float in the water or end up onshore.

"We really encourage people to get outside, enjoy nature andenjoy recreational activities," said Muecke. "However, they do need to be conscious of what they need to be looking for."

The Public Health website has photos of blue-green algae.

Biologist warns cyanobacteria in St. John River can be harmful to humans

5 years ago

Duration 2:24

Cyanobacteria growing at the bottom of the St. John River is producing neurotoxins that could be harmful to people, a UNB scientist warns.

People should check any body of water and if they see or smell anything unusual, Muecke advises against getting in.

Children and pets should be supervised to ensure they don't come into contact with any blue-green algae blooms or benthic mats, she said.

Dogs are attracted to theodour of the algae and should not be allowed to eat any vegetation in the water or along the shore.

People and pets should not swallow any river or lake water and should rinse off when they get out.

Mueckecould not say whether the blue-green algae is worse this year, given that the government has only been monitoring it since late last year.

"It's certainly possible that it was there before that and we just didn't know because we didn't look," she said.

"Itis also possible that it has been there for a long time but is just proliferating more now given the changes in our climate and other factors."

Blue-green algae are photosynthetic bacterial organismsnaturally found inrivers, lakes and wetlands. But in warm weather, they can quickly increase in numbers.

Last year, two dogs died while swimming at Carleton Park in Fredericton.A third dog died after swimming in the river near Hartt Island RV Resort, 14 kilometres west of the city.