By Morgan Lowrie The Canadian Press
Posted April 20, 2022
Avian flu has made a comeback of sorts. Detected in Southern Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan, it has prompted concern from experts. Wildlife pathologist Dr. Brian Stevens speaks about the latest development regarding Avian flu in Canada. – Apr 12, 2022
A Quebec duck-farming operation says three of its facilities have been devastated by avian flu, forcing it to slaughter 150,000 birds and lay off nearly 300 employees.
It will likely take six to 12 months and possibly several million dollars to fully restore the company’s operations, Angela Anderson of Brome Lake Ducks said in an interview Wednesday.
Brome Lake Ducks announced its first case of avian flu on April 13. Anderson said the virus was detected after employees at one of its sites noticed some of the birds getting sick and contacted a veterinarian, who recommended testing.
READ MORE: Avian flu cases identified among flock at handful of Quebec farms
While only three of the company’s 13 sites were affected by the H5N1 virus, one of them contained all the company’s breeding stock, including 400,000 Pekin duck eggs that were ordered destroyed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Once birds that are in the pipeline at unaffected facilities are processed, the company will have to lay off staff because there will be no more ducks coming in, she said.
“Yesterday, I spent all of my day going to 11 different sites to inform almost 300 employees that they had no more jobs in four to five weeks,” Anderson said, adding that the number doesn’t include numerous tradespeople and delivery truck drivers who serve the operation.
“The situation is extremely emotional and extremely difficult.”
Veterinarian Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt of Universite de Montreal says the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu represents the highest-risk strain that Quebec farmers have ever faced.
READ MORE: Canada’s food industry making adjustments amid large bird flu outbreak
“We’ve been monitoring high-path (avian influenza) since 1959, and we’ve never had it in Quebec, so this is a first right now,” Vaillancourt said in an interview Wednesday.
Avian influenza, he added, has been present in wild birds for years but has not posed a significant risk because the level of contamination in the environment has always been low.
This strain, however, is stronger and more contagious, which means more virus is circulating, Vaillancourt said. The strain also has a longer incubation period than previous strains, leading to birds being potentially contagious for days before anyone realizes they are sick, he said.
He said the virus can enter a facility through contact with wild birds, adding that it can also be brought in on straw and litter, or even on the shoes of people who have walked near a pond where birds gather. While he said farmers shouldn’t panic, they need to be careful and implement biosecurity protocols.
WATCH: Bird flu outbreak: Can humans contract the virus? Expert weighs in
Vaillancourt said that while it doesn’t pose much of a risk to humans, it’s so contagious that all animals on an infected farm need to be destroyed on-site to stop it from spreading. Left unchecked, the virus can kill half or more of the animals in a flock, he said.
Quebec’s first bird flu cases were detected in wild geese earlier this month, and several other provinces have already reported outbreaks in wild and domestic populations. As of Wednesday morning, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had confirmed the presence of flu in four sites in Quebec, all in the Estrie region east of Montreal.
Anderson said it will not be easy restarting operations at Brome Lake Ducks, which is one of the biggest duck producers in Canada. She said insurance doesn’t cover animal mortality, adding that while there is some compensation from Canada’s food inspection agency, it doesn’t come close to covering the losses.
New animals will also have to be sourced from Europe, which is hit by its own avian flu problems.
Anderson said she’s hoping different levels of government will compensate the company for its losses and help it get back on its feet. While the company has faced other challenges, including a major fire in 2016, she said this is the biggest yet.
“Problems we can deal with, but this one is extremely difficult and the hill that we have to climb is very steep.”
Vaillancourt said climate change is likely playing a part in the evolution of deadlier viruses, because changing temperatures affect bird migrations, leading some wild birds to visit areas they had not visited before. Breeders, he said, need to be prepared for more viruses in the years to come.
“There’s a new reality, and this is not a one-year thing,” he said.
The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative confirmed the cases after samples from several snow geese were collected near Waskada and a single sample from a bald eagle was collected in the Dauphin area. (File Image: Robert Burton)
Katherine Dow
CTV News Winnipeg
Published April 20, 2022
WINNIPEG -
The province has confirmed the presence of avian influenza was found in two different wild bird samples in Manitoba.
The province said in a news release Wednesday the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative confirmed the cases after samples from several snow geese were collected near Waskada and a single sample from a bald eagle was collected in the Dauphin area.
The province said a sample from each location tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype H5N1.
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It noted no cases of avian influenza were detected in poultry flocks in Manitoba.
Cases of HPAI and H5N1 were previously confirmed in other provinces and across the United States, including in North Dakota and Minnesota along the route for spring migratory birds returning to Manitoba.
PROVINCE RECOMMENDS EXTRA PRECAUTIONS
The province said the risk of avian flu to human health is low, and there are no known cases of transmission of this strain from birds to humans in North America.
Still, the province said people should not touch dead birds or other wildlife with their bare hands. Protective eyewear and masks are recommended as an additional precaution. The province advises thorough hand washing before and after with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
If a dead bird has to be handled, the province said you should wear gloves and the dead bird should be placed in a plastic bag.
The province also said this strain does not pose a food safety risk. Manitoba poultry and eggs are safe to eat when properly handled and cooked, the province said.
Officials also ask Manitobans to contact them if they observe clusters of six or more dead wild waterfowl like ducks or geese or other water birds, any number of dead raptors or avian scavengers like ravens or crows, or large groups of dead birds. Anyone who sees this can call the province’s tip line at 1-800-782-0076.
SMALL FLOCKS AT HIGH RISK
Additionally, Manitoba Agriculture said small flocks are considered at high risk for HPAI infection as they often have access to outdoor pens and free-range. Small flock owners are encouraged to confine their birds indoors if possible during wild bird migration.
Meanwhile, Manitoba’s poultry farmers are urged to follow strict biosecurity protocols like taking precautions with farm visitors and service companies.
Protecting flocks from flu
Poultry farmers in British Columbia are under pressure to protect their flocks as a highly contagious strain of avian flu sweeps over North America.
Ray Nickel, spokesman for the B.C. Poultry Association Emergency Operations Centre, says they’ll use the lessons learned to prevent infections after two severe outbreaks since 2004 that forced them to cull millions of birds.
The H5N1 strain of avian flu is highly pathogenic and can cause serious disease and death in birds, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Nickel, a commercial poultry farmer in Abbotsford and member of the BC Chicken Marketing Board, said farmers are worried aftera case of avian flu was confirmed on a North Okanagan farm last week.
"It's so virulent, and there's a degree of concern that we have for our animals because the impact is so severe," he said. "I feel for my peers in the other provinces that are experiencing it in a more significant way than we are at this point, but it does elicit an amount of fear in us that just isn't very comfortable."
Outbreaks of the same strain have also been detected in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said last week this has been an unprecedented year globally for avian flu.It said it believes migratory birds are responsible for the outbreaks, and expects there will be more cases as flocks continue to fly north for the summer.
Previous outbreaks in B.C. and elsewhere in Canada led to the destruction of millions of birds. The most serious was a 2004 outbreak in the Fraser Valley, where the H7N3 strainspread to 42 commercial farms and 11 backyard coops, prompting federal officials to order a cull of about 17 million birds.
Nickel said B.C. operations are uniquely equipped to respond to potential outbreaks because of their past experiences.
“We know what it looks like. The good part is knowing what to expect, but on the other hand, nobody wants to go through this."
The B.C. Egg Marketing Board said there are 578 poultry farms in the province and about 80 per cent of those are located in the Fraser Valley, which sits in the path of Pacific Flyway, a main bird migration route.
Because B.C.'s industry is concentrated in the Fraser Valley, Nickel said farmers need to take on more responsibility to prevent the spread of the flu.
Avian flu is spread through contact with an infected bird or its feces or nasal secretions. Farm birds that go outside are most at risk because they can come in direct contact with infected wild birds or their feces. Humans can also inadvertently carry the infection into a barn on their shoes or clothing.
Nickel said biosecurity and emergency management measures introduced after the 2004 outbreak helped to control the spread of the virus in 2009 and 2014. Each outbreak has allowed the province and its farmers to improve and refine its response, he said.
The association has an emergency response team that operates using an incident command structure, similar to fire and police services, allowing the team to respond quickly when flu is found, he said. Protocols include strict procedures around locked gates, changing clothing and footwear, and monitoring entrances and exits.
"It’s a very regimented procedure that takes place," he said. "B.C. is the only province that has a mandatory biosecurity program provincially. Everyone across the country has biosecurity measures that they put in place, but because of 2004, B.C. developed a mandatory provincial one that is enforced by the marketing board.”
When Agriculture Minister Lana Popham announced the discovery of avian flu in the North Okanagan farm last week, she said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was leading the response to the outbreak, which includes testing, mapping, surveillance and disposal of animals.
“All poultry producers, including backyard poultry owners, are advised to increase their biosecurity practices and to be vigilant and monitor for signs of avian influenza in their flocks," she said.
B.C.'s deputy chief veterinarian also issued an order requiring all commercial poultry flocks in the province with more than 100 birds to be moved indoors until the spring migration ends in May, the Agriculture Ministry said.
The order said the H5N1 strain of avian influenza was detected in wild birds around Metro Vancouver earlier this year and because waterfowl are considered the main source of the virus, steps must be taken to limit their exposure to commercial poultry.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said the food industry is making adjustments to maintain supplies of poultry and eggs in the face of a large outbreak.
The CFIA said no human cases have been detected in Canada and the illness is not considered a significant health concern for healthy people who are not in regular contact with infected birds.
Issued on: 20/04/2022 -
The Chamber of Agriculture has suggested that producers located within 20 kilometres of a bird flu outbreak quickly transport their healthy animals forA bird flu outbreak in France’s Dordogne region has led authorities to consider new zoning rules and the premature slaughter of healthy animals to create stocks for the summer.
Over the past two weeks 37 outbreaks have been identified in the south-western department, Chamber of Agriculture figures show.
France Bleu Périgord said the first case was detected on 2 April in a goose farm in Saint-Geniès, in the Périgord Noir area of Dordogne.
Other cases were then found in the Périgord Vert at an experimental goose farm managed by the Chamber of Agriculture and the NGO Asseldor in the town of Coulaures.
“The flagship farm of the goose industry" had been “tragically” hit by bird flu in the Dordogne said secretary general of the Chamber of Agriculture, Pierre-Henri Chanquoi
Double whammy
Some 700 geese were slaughtered in Coulaures in what chamber vice president Yannick Frances described as a “double punishment" given the farm, created in 1992, also housed a flock of breeders.
“They allowed us to have goslings for the whole sector, and the Dordogne sector represents almost the entire national production,” Frances said.
France orders poultry lockdown as bird flu spreads across Europe
There are still "two flocks of breeding geese" in the Dordogne with stocks of eggs and chicks, Frances said, adding the challenge now was to “contain the epidemic to preserve them as much as possible”.
The Chamber of Agriculture has suggested that producers located within 20 kilometres of an outbreak quickly transport their healthy animals for force-feeding and slaughter.
It also recommends setting up localised "sanitary vacuums" around the outbreaks to allow production to resume.
The last time bird flu was detected in the Dordogne was in the winter of 2015-2016.
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