Entrance to Ma-Me-O Beach, where a warning has been issued about blue-green algae. Google

Beach lovers should avoid Ma-Me-O Beach because of a toxic blue-green algae bloom, warned Alberta Health Tuesday.

The popular beach, about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton on Pigeon Lake, is the second site on the lake affected by the algae. Pigeon Lake Provincial Park also has a bloom, as well as other spots in Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick.

Blue-green algae — Cyanobacteria or "pond scum" — produces a poison that can cause serious illness in humans and animals from contact or consumption. Most algae blooms are short lived, Alberta Health said, but an advisory for Baptiste Lake, west of Edmonton, has been in place for more than two weeks.

Domestic animals such as dogs and cattle have died after ingesting the blue-green algae poison, but there are no records of human deaths.

Symptoms of poisoning in humans can include fever, headache, dizziness, stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, skin and eye irritation, sore throat and swollen lips.

If blue-green algae is present, Alberta Health advises:

• Do not drink the water.
• Do not swim or wade or allow your pets in the water.
• Do not eat fish from any lake with a bloom.
• Avoid contact with dried algae on the shore.

There is a warning out for Silver Beach in Alberta, while most of the beaches in Ramsey Lake in Sudbury, Ont., have been closed by blooms, as has the resevoir in Moncton, N.B.