Fowl from Canadian farms are relatively safe from the Asian avian flu because they are raised in controlled environments indoors, but humans could be at risk from a mutated strain of the virus.
Reports indicate no evidence to show the virus has passed from human to human, only between the affected birds and those handling them.
It has affected 10 Pacific Rim countries and was responsible for 10 human deaths of people there as of Jan. 29. In chicken flocks, it produces high mortality rates.
Canada does not import live birds or eggs from these countries, largely because their meat inspection systems are not up to Canadian standards, said George Luterbach of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
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Cultural and business practices in Asia, such as the selling of live wild and domestic birds in marketplaces, have increased the risk and spread of the disease. Most Canadians buy their fowl as frozen or fresh meat.
Most modern domestic bird flocks in Canada are contained in barns and would not have contact with wild fowl populations where the disease naturally exists.
“The risk to Canada is extremely minimal,” Luterbach said.
If an outbreak occurred, he noted the disease is a reportable one that would invoke actions such as quarantines and destruction orders to eradicate it.
Luterbach said there is some concern the virus could mutate and become a human health concern as serious as the Spanish Influenza that caused millions of deaths in 1918-19.
The World Health Organization has asked governments to provide funds and technical assistance to countries in advance of possible outbreaks in humans.
Work is under way in WHO labs to develop an effective human vaccine for the Asian avian flu.
Health Canada is working closely with the WHO and its investigations in Thailand.
Closer to home, it has stepped up its own influenza surveillance program, advising doctors to be alert to any signs of the disease, especially in patients who have travelled to the Far East.
A pandemic committee is also meeting more frequently to discuss disease prevention.
