Two Fraser Valley farms quaranti

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Two Fraser Valley farms quarantined after presence of H5 avian influenza confirmed

December 2, 2014 Global News BC

A turkey farm in Abbotsford and a broiler breeder farm in Chilliwack have been placed under quarantine after the presence of H5 avian influenza was confirmed through preliminary testing.

Initial tests were conducted on Monday at a laboratory in Abbotsford after both farms experienced sudden deaths of birds over the weekend. Further testing is currently underway to determine the precise subtype and strain of the virus, and results are expected within days.

According to Dr. Jane Pritchard, chief veterinary officer with the BC Ministry of Agriculture, 18,000 birds will be humanely euthanized and composted at the barns. The Abbotsford farm had 11,000 birds but half had died of the disease and the Chilliwack farm had 1,000 of their 7,000 birds perish.

The names of the two affected businesses have not been disclosed but Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials did say the two farms had no direct connection and are approximately 8 km away from each other. Pritchard says the turkeys would have been targetted for the upcoming Christmas market.

The agency says there will be an investigation into how the virus spread between barns — whether it was due to migratory patterns or personnel moving between the two affected areas. The CFIA says the quarantine measure was taken to control disease spread and the industry sector has been notified to adopt enhanced bio-security practices.

The agency reassures avian influenza viruses do not pose risks to food safety when poultry and poultry products are properly handled and cooked.

The World Health Organization says humans can become ill when infected with viruses from animal sources, including avian influenza virus subtypes H5N1 and H9N2. The primary risk factor for human infection appears to be direct or indirect exposure to infected live or dead animals or contaminated environments.

In January of this year, the first case of H5N1 bird flu in North America left an Alberta resident dead. The patient travelled to China in December 2013 and was admitted to hospital in Alberta on New Year’s Day. By Jan. 3, the patient died. It was the first case of H5N1 Canada has ever seen since the deadly influenza first surfaced over a decade ago.

The flu outbreak is the fourth in the Fraser Valley since 2005.

In 2009, an outbreak of avian flu in the same region led to the quarantine of several farms

In another Fraser Valley outbreak in November 2005, two duck farms were infected with the H5N2 strain of the virus.

In 2004, an H7-type flu transformed into a highly contagious strain. Farm after farm was quarantined until finally about 15 million birds — almost the entire valley poultry population — were destroyed.

Comment: Factory farming or intensive farming is the culprit in the cause and spread of these diseases. Animals are treated as “production units” and denied their most basic needs, confined in filthy and inhumane conditions. It’s the bottom line that matters, nothing more. Under our country’s Health of Animals Act, financial compensation is given to farmers whose animals are destroyed by the CFIA. Government protects corporate interests and the powerful agricultural industry.

Vested interests like to blame wild birds for the spread of avian flu say experts like Dr Leon Bennun. Michael Greger, MD writes; "In a sense, pandemics aren't born—they're made. "The bottom line is that humans have to think about how they treat their animals, how they farm them, and how they market them—basically the whole relationship between the animal kingdom and the human kingdom is coming under stress." Bird Flu: A Virus of our Own Hatching

Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals Promoting the welfare of farm animals and the banning of sow stalls and battery cages in Canada.

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