The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has placed most of British Columbia’s poultry industry under restricted movement to limit the spread of the deadly avian influenza.
Five chicken and turkey farms near Abbottsford and Chilliwack in B.C.’s Fraser Valley have tested positive for the deadly strain of avian influenza H5N2. About 166,000 birds have either died or been humanely destroyed since the discovery of the disease at the end of November.
The industry is hoping to limit the spread of the disease by placing most of B.C.’s poultry industry under restricted movement.
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“The primary control zone is needed to contain or eradicate the spread of this outbreak,” said Dr. Harpreet Kochhar, CFIA’s chief veterinary officer, during a technical briefing Dec. 8.
The restricted zone borders the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. border, the Alberta border and Highway 16.
“It has been put in place to protect animal health, control disease spread and to minimize trade disruption to the poultry industry outside of the zone.”
Seven countries have imposed temporary trade restrictions on Canadian poultry and poultry products.
The United States, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan and South Africa have banned poultry from B.C. or all of Canada, while the U.S. has banned birds and hatching eggs, poultry meat, eggs and egg products and animal byproducts from British Columbia.
It is hoped that placing the control zone around the infected area will encourage those countries to limit their trade restrictions to B.C. or the Fraser Valley.
The highly contagious disease can spread rapidly between birds. It is anticipated additional farms may be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Dr. Jane Pritchard, chief veterinary officer for B.C., said depopulation and composting of the birds has begun on the first four farms identified with the virus.
To eradicate the disease from a farm, the birds are euthanized and they and their bedding and feed are composted inside the barn in an initial composting process. A second composting process takes place outside the barn. The heat from the composting is enough to kill the virus.
The source of the infection is not known, although officials are investigating the possibility it could have come from migratory birds.
Regular testing for viruses is done on migratory birds, but nothing has been flagged showing higher than normal mortality in wild birds, said Kochhar.
There is a link between the three chicken barns. The second farm that tested positive for avian influenza was a broiler breeder farm that had sent chicks to the third and fourth farms identified.
The first and fifth farms testing positive for the virus are turkey farms. There is no known link between the two turkey farms or between the turkey and chicken farms, said Pritchard.
Farmers affected by avian influenza receive federal compensation based on the type of bird and the stage of production.
Under the primary control zone, restricted movement includes poultry, fowl and pet birds, poultry products and byproducts and anything that has been exposed to captive birds, which could include feed, vehicles, equipment or clothing.
Kochhar said the control zone can be reduced or lifted once the depopulated barns are cleaned and disinfected and no further avian influenza is found in the area.
Avian influenza poses little risk to people eating poultry if the meat is cooked properly. The virus can be transmitted to people, but usually only to those who work closely with the birds.
mary.macarthur@producer.com
