Thousands of birds die from avian influenza at two Canadian farms

Thousands of turkeys and chickens have died from H5 subtype avian influenza at two poultry farms in south-western British Columbia, Canada, with both locations currently under quarantine.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed in a statement that the birds at both farms in the Fraser Valley, a turkey farm in Abbotsford and a broiler breeder farm in Chilliwack, have died from the avian influenza.

The two farms are located are three miles from Canada’s border with Washington state and have been quarantined by CFIA to contain the spread of the disease and has notified industry sector to adopt enhanced biosecurity practices.

The agency will carry out further tests to confirm pathogenicity and to determine the precise subtype and strain of the virus, results of which are expected in the next few days.

CFIA said in a statement: "All birds on the infected premises will be humanely euthanised and disposed of, in accordance with provincial environmental regulations and internationally accepted disease control guidelines."

The Star quoted Canada’s chief veterinary officer Harpreet Kochhar as saying: "In terms of the pathogenicity, it’s still something we will have to test. It is showing a heavy mortality in the poultry population that has been affected in the two barns. At this point, it’s rather preliminary to determine how serious it will be in terms of its spread and further control."

It was further reported that half of the 11,000 turkeys in the infected barn at the Abbotsford farm were slated to be slaughtered for the Christmas season but died early from the influenza.

The Chilliwack barn housed 7,000 chickens, with 1,000 of those already dead.

CFIA will carry out the process of quarantining infected farms and determine a surrounding surveillance zone for further testing.

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Image: Thousands of chicken and turkeys have died from avian influenza at two farms in British Columbia. Photo: courtesy of Simon Howden/freedigitalphotos.net.