Anthrax confirmed in bison at Wood Buffalo National Park

Parks Canada has confirmed that anthrax is to blame for the recent deaths of dozens of bison.

Fifty-two bison have died in the latest outbreak at the park.

"The risk to humans is very, very low," said Stuart MacMillan with Parks Canada.

"What we advise people to do is if they do see a carcass, don't approach it, report it to the Park office so that we know where it is."

MacMillan says most of the bison have died in remote areas, which virtually eliminates the risk to humans.

Parks officials believe the worst is over, now that the weather has turned cooler.

They say dry, hot weather earlier this summer allowed the anthrax spores to surface, creating prime conditions for an outbreak

"As conditions become a little bit less dry and hot over the course of the summer, as the summer proceeds and the days get a little bit shorter and perhaps we get some cooler weather, we already feel like we've passed the peak of the outbreak," MacMillan said.

"We'll continue to do surveillance to see if that's true."