E & H Farms, a turkey farm near Abbotsford.
Photograph by: Jean Konda-Witte, Abbotsford-Mission Times
METRO VANCOUVER - Up to 60,000 turkeys on a farm near Abbotsford will be culled and their bodies likely composted due to an outbreak of avian flu.
Initial testing has shown birds at E & H Farms are carrying avian flu, but the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is awaiting final confirmation from a lab in Winnipeg.
“At this point in time, while we’re waiting for the test, we are making plans for how we will destroy the birds and how we will dispose of the carcasses,” said Sandra Stephens, a disease control specialist with the C.F.I.A.
“We want to be prepared to be able to act very, very quickly once we receive the final word from the lab.”
In an effort to contain the virus, 22 commercial farms in a three-kilometre radius surrounding E & H Farms have been under quarantine since the virus was initially detected Wednesday night. The quarantine means poultry products cannot leave a farm until they have been tested and show no signs of the avian flu.
The quarantine will remain in effect for three weeks after the turkeys are culled, Stephens said.
The initial test, which was conducted at a lab in Abbotsford, was prompted when a worker noticed the birds seemed to be suffering from some sort of respiratory distress.
Mortality among the birds in the two barns at the farm has been normal to “perhaps slightly elevated,” Stephens said.
Initial tests show the virus is an H5 strain, which is an indication it could become highly pathogenic, similar to the H5N1 virus that has killed more than 250 people worldwide. But Stephens said there has been no evidence to suggest it is an unusually dangerous form of the virus.
“It’s possible that we could have an H5N1, but it would appear, just by the way this virus is acting, that it’s not a highly pathogenic form, so it wouldn’t be the Asian strain,” she said. There are 16 different H-types of the virus, but it is the H5 and the H7 types that can quickly change from a low pathogenic form to a highly pathogenic form, Stephens said.
Dr. Perry Kendall, provincial health officer, said there is no risk to public health at this time. He said one worker at the turkey farm has possibly been affected by contact with the birds, but measures are in place to ensure the health and safety of anyone else who might come in contact with an infected bird.
“We’ve got rapid communication and if we need to, we can very quickly get out and assess who might be at risk,” Kendall said. “We have protocols in place for the protection that we think is needed for the people who would be exposed if they did a cull.”
Those who come in direct contact with the infected birds will have to take a course of anti-viral drugs as a precaution.
“The risk is really remote that the avian influenza would move to humans or infect a human,” he said.
During the avian flu outbreak of 2004, the virus was never detected in a human, but more than 17 million birds were culled, making it the largest animal cull in Canadian history. Most of the carcasses were composted and Stephens said composting is still the preferred method of disposal.
Kendall said the Asian strain of the virus has never been detected in North America. He said there has been thorough testing and surveillance of both farm fowl and wild birds, which are also known to carry the virus.
Calvin Breukelman, chair of the B.C. Poultry Association’s biosecurity committee, said an emergency response team coordinated by the poultry industry was mobilized Friday morning.
Since the 2004 outbreak, he said farmers have been working closely with the C.F.I.A. to enhance biosecurity and communication.
Despite all the precautionary measures, Breukelman said the local poultry industry is concerned whenever it hears of a possible outbreak of avian flu.
“Of course we’re concerned,” he said. “We want to be able to ensure, first of all that if it is on this farm, that we deal with it effectively and prevent it from spreading any further. That’s the number-one priority for us.
“We’re all hoping for the best with this thing, but if we do get the news that it’s a positive flock, then we’ll have to go in and deal with it accordingly. We just hope that everything’s going to turn out fine.”
Liz Bicknell, spokeswoman with the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture, said the farm in question has been diligent about biosecurity.
"This particular farm we're dealing with right now, their biosecurity measures are impeccable — they are very, very high," Bicknell said
No comments:
Post a Comment