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Canada quarantines second poultry flock for bird flu
Canada quarantines second poultry flock for bird flu
Sun Jun 18, 2006 06:27 PM ET
By Marcy Nicholson
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canada is investigating a second backyard poultry flock for bird flu, although all birds remain healthy, authorities said on Sunday.
"A quarantine has been instituted at that premise and it's because there's been contact either with live birds or through foot traffic and potential contamination with the original infected farm," said Canadian Food Inspection Agency veterinarian Jim Clark.
The CFIA announced on Friday it had detected a case of H5 avian flu in a gosling from a backyard poultry flock after four goslings died, in the eastern province of Prince Edward Island.
Test results are expected on Tuesday, to confirm if the virus is a North American or Asian strain. If there is enough virus present, the CFIA will be able to determine whether it is a high or low pathogen strain.
"There's no direct evidence that the influenza virus was the cause of the problem in the four birds that died," Clark added.
All birds on the second farm, adjacent to the original farm, remain healthy and the CFIA has taken some swab samples to determine if the virus exists on that farm.
The noncommercial flock of 35 to 40 ducks, geese and chickens on the original farm were euthanized by the CFIA on Friday.
Clark said he was not aware of any human illness linked to the virus.
The CFIA has said there is no evidence the case involves the high-pathogen H5N1 strain that has spread to 48 countries since 2003. H5N1 has not been discovered in the Americas.
Canada Quarantines second poultry flock for Bird Flu
Canada quarantines second poultry flock for bird flu
<!-- END HEADLINE --> <!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --> 34 minutes ago
By Marcy Nicholson
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canada is investigating a second backyard poultry flock for bird flu, although all birds remain healthy, authorities said on Sunday.
"A quarantine has been instituted at that premise and it's because there's been contact either with live birds or through foot traffic and potential contamination with the original infected farm," said Canadian Food Inspection Agency veterinarian Jim Clark.
The CFIA announced on Friday it had detected a case of H5 avian flu in a gosling from a backyard poultry flock after four goslings died, in the eastern province of Prince Edward Island.
Test results are expected on Tuesday, to confirm if the virus is a North American or Asian strain. If there is enough virus present, the CFIA will be able to determine whether it is a high or low pathogen strain.
"There's no direct evidence that the influenza virus was the cause of the problem in the four birds that died," Clark added.
All birds on the second farm, adjacent to the original farm, remain healthy and the CFIA has taken some swab samples to determine if the virus exists on that farm.
The noncommercial flock of 35 to 40 ducks, geese and chickens on the original farm were euthanized by the CFIA on Friday.
Clark said he was not aware of any human illness linked to the virus.
The CFIA has said there is no evidence the case involves the high-pathogen H5N1 strain that has spread to 48 countries since 2003. H5N1 has not been discovered in the Americas.
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The suspect bird was a 40-day-old meat duck collected at processing. The bird was in excellent body condition with submitting criteria of dermatitis. No other visible lesions and no indication of any active disease process were observed on post-mortem examination.
<!-- icx_story_begin -->A second Prince Edward Island farm has been placed under a quarantine order as a precautionary measure as authorities investigate the finding of an H5 avian flu virus in a domestic goose in that province.
An official of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the move was taken when investigators learned there was traffic of people and perhaps poultry between the two farms, which both had free-range backyard flocks.
Ottawa-based Dr. Jim Clark said no birds from the second farm have displayed signs of illness and for the time being, authorities have not ordered their destruction.
Clark, who is the national manager of CFIA's avian influenza working group, said a post-mortem examination of the goose that tested positive for the H5 virus did not reveal what killed the bird.
The bird was one of four geese in a mixed flock that died last Monday. Chickens in the same flock did not die, leading investigators to believe the virus was not highly pathogenic.
The Asian H5N1 virus that has infected at least 227 people over the past 2-1/2 years ? killing 129 of them ? is a highly pathogenic virus.
The CFIA's National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases in Winnipeg is working to confirm that the virus is actually an H5 and to further categorize it to determine whether it is the Asian H5N1 virus.
Clark said the lab may have some answers by late Tuesday or Wednesday, but it will take about another week to determine the subtype of the neuraminidase ? the N in a flu virus's name.<!-- icx_story_end -->
H5 Positive Geese in Canada Lead to Broader Investigation
Recombinomics Commentary June 18, 2006 A second Prince Edward Island farm has been placed under a quarantine order as a precautionary measure as authorities investigate the finding of an H5 avian flu virus in a domestic goose in that province. An official of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the move was taken when investigators learned there was traffic of people and perhaps poultry between the two farms, which both had free-range backyard flocks.
Ottawa-based Dr. Jim Clark said no birds from the second farm have displayed signs of illness and for the time being, authorities have not ordered their destruction.
Clark, who is the national manager of CFIA's avian influenza working group, said a post-mortem examination of the goose that tested positive for the H5 virus did not reveal what killed the bird.
The above comments provide additional indications that the H5 detected on a backyard farm on Prince Edward Island is the Qinghai strain of H5N1. That strain is widely circulating in long trange migratory birds and is most likely to infect free range backyard flocks because of interactions between the wild and free range domestic birds.
Although low pathogenic H5 has been reported across southern Canada last year, the H5 detected was from healthy wild birds. The H5 was in swabs from health young birds that were being banded and released. This birds did not display signs of illness.
The H5 detection has led to increased surveillance and a low path H5N2 isolate was found in a duck at a processing plant. The OIE report of November 20, 2005 indicated
The suspect bird was a 40-day-old meat duck collected at processing. The bird was in excellent body condition with submitting criteria of dermatitis. No other visible lesions and no indication of any active disease process were observed on post-mortem examination. That report specifically indicate that the post mortem gave no indication of active disease. The above media report merely stated that the post mortem did not reveal what killed the bird. It did not indicate an infectious process was ruled out.
If the H5 was coincidental the usual walk of the birds preceding their death might have been due to poisoning. However, the latest media report did not point in that direction.
The death of four birds by low path H5 would be unusual. Most waterfowl do not show ill effects from low path, and waterfowl frequently ho no signs of infection when infected with high path H5N1.
That is why the four dead geese with symptoms prior to death strongly point toward a highly pathogenic strain, such as Qinghai H5N1 bird flu. The delay in determining the pathogenicity is also of concern. The Asian strain of H5n1 is easily characterized by sequencing the HA cleavage site. Thos test is routine and diagnostic for high path. All H5 with a cleavage site of GERRRKKR has been the highly pathogenic H5N1 and almost all have been the Qinghai strain that is in long range migratory birds.
The four dead birds began showing symptoms on June 4, and died the next day. It is now almost two weeks since symptoms were observed yet no information on the HA cleavage site has been released. The delays in characterizing the cleavage site create addition cause for concern.
When LPAI H5N2 was found in British Columbia on Nov 17, 2005, it was confirmed on Nov 18, OIE report filed on Nov 20, and the sequence was deposited at Genbank on Nov 29
In the same time frame this year, only a press release for gullible reporters on H5 being low risk and uninfected chickens has been put out. They have the sequence and have had the sequence and there is NOTHING to indicate it is not Qinghai H5N1.
Second farm quarantined
Official says no sign of additional bird flu in P.E.I. poultry.
June 19, 2006
Photo caption: A member of the Oliver family of Huntley, who did not want to be identified, disinfects his truck Sunday. Twenty-nine domestic fowl on the family farm had to be destroyed after four died and one tested positive for an H5 avian flu virus, but he also said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has led him to believe it doesn?t believe it is the virulent H5N1 strain, but results of tests will not be known until later in the week. (GUARDIAN PHOTO BY BRIAN MCINNIS)
By Caitlin McIntyre and The Canadian Press
The Guardian
A second Prince Edward Island farm has been placed under a quarantine order as a precautionary measure, as authorities continue their investigation of an H5 avian flu virus discovered in a domestic goose last week.
The quarantine was initiated when investigators learned there was high traffic of people and possibly poultry between the Oliver family farm in Huntley, on the outskirts of Alberton, where the virus was found, and another farm in O?Leary, an official with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said.
Dr. Jim Clark, the CFIA?s director of animal health, said no birds from the second farm have shown any signs of illness, and authorities haven?t ordered their destruction, at least for now.
Confirmatory test results on whether the virus was indeed an H5, as well as the strain and virulence of the virus (high pathogenicity or low pathogenicity), are expected Tuesday or Wednesday, he said. Samples of the domestic goose that died last week were sent to the CFIA?s National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases in Winnipeg, where the origin of the virus ? whether it is of a North American lineage or Asian ? will also de determined.
The second quarantine has provided further evidence the virus is the less dangerous, low pathogenic type, Clark said.
?The fact that there are no birds ill there ? if the virus has moved ? that again would be additional evidence that what we?re dealing with here is a low pathogenicity virus,? he said. ?There?s nothing that?s obvious to us that would suggest it?s anything except a low pathogenicity virus.?
The CFIA confirmed Friday the goose tested positive for the H5 virus. The goose was part of a small, free-range flock of chickens, geese and ducks. Four of the 11 geese were found dead Monday, but none of the other birds in the flock were ill. All of the birds were destroyed as a precaution.
As Chief Health Officer Dr. Lamont Sweet awaits test results, he is cautiously hopeful, knowing the virus does not seem to have come in contact with humans.
Last week, Sweet began investigations with those in contact with the goose, searching for flu-like symptoms or eye infections.
?We don?t have any symptoms of anyone who has been in close contact, so we haven?t had anyone ill who needs to be tested at this stage,? he said Sunday. ?The three close contacts have been offered the anti-viral medication, but we don?t have any indication that any human has anything associated with the virus.?
This increases the hope that the goose isn?t the highly pathogenic Asian H5N1, which has killed hundreds of millions of poultry, and more than 100 people. Moreover, the fact that none of the chickens in the flock fell ill may serve as further evidence, Clark said.
Sweet said while this is encouraging, nothing will be known for certain until the test results return.
The three individuals ?may not have gotten in direct contact with the virus enough to have caught it, so we just can?t say anything for sure at this stage,? he said.
All of the birds in the flock at the Oliver family farm were destroyed, and a member of the Oliver family said Sunday officials had to destroy 29 fowl that they used for personal consumption.
The family member said officials have also led them to believe the virus isn?t the deadly H5N1 strain.
Since the discovery of the virus, Sweet said he has been working closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada, participating in frequent teleconferences with them.
Furthermore, Public Health have sent three epidemiologists to the Island to help with the investigation.
And if the virus is here, there?s still no indication how long it has been on P.E.I., Sweet said.
?It may have been here for a while and not have been tested,? he said. ?It may just be that there?s an increased amount of testing and now suddenly it?s found and therefore it may have been here without causing problems for a long while.?
Without a doubt, the discovery of the virus has come as a bit of a shock.
?We had no indication it was in our area at all, and then suddenly for something like this to hit us here, it?s surprising,? Sweet said.
Recombinomics Commentary June 19, 2006
The delay in the release of information of the H5 detected in a dead goose on a free range backyard farm on Prince Edward Island is cause for concern. On June 4 four geese "waking funny" were observed and the next morning they were dead. Three were buried and one was brought in for testing and H5 was confirmed. However data on the pathogenicity of the isolate has been lacking, even though the birds have been dead for almost two weeks.
This delay is in marked contrast to the detection of low pathogenic H5N2 on a farm in British Columbia last November. At that time Canada had released data on H5 detected in health young waterfowl across southern Canada. H5 was readily detected in swabs collect in August 2005 as part of a banding program. The banded ducks were healthy and released into the wild. Detection of avian influenza in healthy waterfowl is not uncommon.
In the British Columbia incident, the duck was initially observed during processing on November 17. H5 was confirmed on Nov 18 and an OIE report was filed on Nov 20. A partial sequence of the H5 and N2 was placed on deposit at GenBank on Nov 29. Thus, within 12 days the virus was isolated, H5 confirmed, sequence was generated, checked, and deposited at a public sequence database in 12 days.
The HA cleavage site was RETR, which is markedly different that the sequence in Asian H5N1 which is RERRRKKR or GERRRKKR in the Qinghai strain. Both of the sequences have four basic amino acids inserted into the cleavage site, producing a larger gene product. This additional genetic information would produce an insert that had an additional 12 BP. Thus, the presence of the additional genetic information could be determined by just looking at the size of the insert. However, sequencing of the insert is also routine, and the added basic amino acids is diagnostic of highly pathogenic avian influenza and does not require determination of the N serotype. All H sequences with a cleavage site of RERRRKKR or GERRRKKR have been high path H5N1.
On June 16 instead of announcing the determination of the pathogenicity of the H5, there was a press release indicating that H5 had been found. There has been no OIE report filed and the H5 is said to be "low risk". The "low risk determination seemed to be comments on the potential of the H5 causing human illness. Most countries with recent H5N1 infections in wild birds or poultry have not had human cases. The human cases were found in countries with massive outbreaks and may also be linked to further genetic changes.
However, the fact that four geese were sick and died are hallmarks of the Qinghai strain of H5N1. Most waterfowl do not get sick from low pathogenic avian influenza and many waterfowl species are resistant to H5N1 that is lethal in chickens and people. Therefore, the death of 4 geese was cause concern. Media reports suggested that the H5 was not highly pathogenic because the chickens on the farm were not affected. However, because the H5N1 in wild birds are frequently in waterfowl that interact with domestic ducks, the first cases are frequently in domestic waterfowl. This is one of the hallmarks of the Qinghai H5N1 infections.
The Qinghai strain was initially identified in waterfowl at Qinghai Lake in May of 2005. Most of the dead birds were bar headed geese. The infections at Qinghai Lake were followed by two H5N1 outbreaks in China in Xinjiang Province. Both outbreaks involved domestic waterfowl. Similarly, the initial outbreaks on farms around Chany Lake in southern Siberia were also in free range birds sharing water reservoirs with wild birds.
As H5N1 migrated to Europe, initial outbreaks were in the Volga Delta and Danube Delta. The initial isolates were from mute swans. In many countries in Europe, the H5N1 isolates have been detected in wild birds.
This year there have been no H5 OIE reports from Canada or the United States, although media reports indicated H5 had been found at a wet market in New Jersey. The failure to detect high or low pathogenic H5 this year is cause for concern.
It is likely that the H5 on a farm on PIE will be linked to wild birds, raising surveillance concerns. The failure to release additional data on the H5 isolate is also of concern. The lack of infections in chickens does not address the pathogenicity because the dead birds were removed quickly and other birds on the farm have been euthanized. The dead geese are a signal of H5N1 Qinghai infections, as is the "funny walk."
The failure to recognize the dead geese as a common scenario linked to H5N1 infections suggest education of infections via migratory birds is lacking and the delay in release of pathogenicity or sequence data is also of concern.
The owners of the dead geese have been offered anti-virals, but have been told that the H5 was not likely to be highly pathogenic. The basis of these assurances remains unclear.
Canada Investigates Second Backyard Poultry Flock For Bird Flu
Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu News
Article Date: 19 Jun 2006 - 11:00am (PDT)
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Canadian authorities say they are investigating a second group of backyard poultry after a case of H5 avian flu was detected in the eastern province of Prince Edward Island where four goslings died. Authorities say all the birds in the present investigation seem to be healthy.
As there had been contact either with live birds or through foot traffic with the original infected farm, authorities have instituted a quarantine at the premises of the second group. Although all the birds seem healthy, swabs have been taken to see whether the virus is present there.
Test results will tell us whether the four goslings died of a North American H5 strain or an Asian strain. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) will then know whether the virus strain is a low or high pathogen.Some results will give us certain indications by Wednesday - but it will be at least a week before full test results are available. 40 poultry, including chickens, geese and ducks have been culled. A post-mortem examination did not reveal what the birds died of. As chickens did not get ill or die, veterinary experts doubt the virus is highly pathogenic.
Authorities say there is no evidence of human infection or any threat to public health.
CIFA stressed these are all standard precautionary measures and that there is no evidence to indicate that the H5N1 is present in Canada.
Both farms have free-range backyard poultry. Authorities have not ordered the destruction of birds in the second farm.
The virulent H5N1 bird flu virus strain has made its way from South East Asia, in 2003, to other parts of Asia, parts of Africa and Western and Eastern Europe. There have been 227 confirmed cases of humans infected with H5N1 over the last two-and-a-half years, of which 129 have died.
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