Announcement

**HenryN** · June 16, 2006, 04:14 PM

Re: Avian flu found in PEI (H5)

Avian flu detected at P.E.I. backyard farm
<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2> </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>CanWest News Service</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazett...f9ece6&k=47269

Friday, June 16, 2006

<TABLE style="FLOAT: right" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=250 align=right border=0 valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=storycredit>CREDIT: AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A</TD></TR><TR><TD class=storycredit>Chicken are seen inside a coop at a poultry farm on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>CHARLOTTETOWN ? A case of H5 avian flu has been detected in a gosling from a small backyard flock in the western end of Prince Edward Island.

Further testing on the bird will be conducted over the weekend to determine the exact strain and virulency of the virus.

?From the information we have received, there is a low risk of human illness at the present time,? said Dr. Lamont Sweet, chief health officer for the island, said in a news release Friday.

?There is no evidence to suggest that the avian influenza virus can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of food, notably poultry and eggs. However, people need to continue washing their hands carefully after handling poultry.?

There are potentially nine different subtypes of Influenza A H5, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They can be highly pathogenic or low pathogenic.

H5 infections have been detected in humans, causing illness and death in some cases.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is following established procedures to deal with the suspect case.

Sweet said his department is monitoring for any flu-like symptoms or eye infections in those who have come in contact with domestic or wild birds in the West Prince area.

The flu-like symptoms include the onset of cough, fever, runny nose or sore eyes within seven days of exposure to poultry.

Consumers should make sure poultry and eggs are thoroughly cooked to protect themselves from the possible risks of food poisoning.

**HenryN** · June 16, 2006, 05:02 PM

Re: Canada - Avian flu found in PEI (H5)

Commentray at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/06160602/H5_PEI_Gosling.html

**Theresa42** · June 16, 2006, 05:10 PM

H5 avian virus found in PEI goose: initial test

H5 avian virus found in PEI goose: initial test
Updated Fri. Jun. 16 2006 5:50 PM ET

Canadian Press

TORONTO -- A domestic goose that died in western Prince Edward Island earlier this week tested positive for an H5 avian flu virus, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed Friday.

Samples are being sent to CFIA's National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases in Winnipeg so that confirmatory tests can be run and the neuraminidase (the N in a flu virus's name) can be determined.

The goose was part of a small, free-range flock of chickens, geese and ducks. Four of 11 geese in the flock were discovered dead on Monday. None of the other birds fell ill at the time but all have since been destroyed as a precautionary measure.

Dr. Jim Clark, CFIA's director of animal health, said at this point there is no indication this virus is the virulent Asian H5N1 that has killed hundreds of millions of poultry _ and more than 100 people _ around the world.

In fact, there is no evidence as yet that the avian flu played a role in the death of the geese.

"Just because these birds have died, we mustn't jump to the conclusion it was an influenza virus that killed them," Clark said in an interview from Ottawa.

A post-mortem examination of the bird will be done to determine the cause of death.

The owner of the birds, who raised them for personal consumption, told authorities he noticed four of his geese were walking oddly on Sunday. The next day he discovered four had died.

He disposed of three but took one for testing to the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown. The laboratory there confirmed the presence of an H5 virus.

Further testing will reveal the nature of the virus. But an avian influenza expert said the fact the chickens in this flock didn't fall ill suggests it probably isn't a highly pathogenic H5 virus.

"It certainly doesn't sound like the Asian H5N1," said Dr. Ted Leighton, executive director of the Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Health Centre.

H5 and H7 avian flu viruses come in two forms -- highly pathogenic and low pathogenicity. The former is deadly to domestic chickens while the latter typically leads to a drop off in egg production.

"There's no such thing as zero probability on these things. But there's a lot of other reasons why a bunch of geese might die," Leighton said.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060616/h5_goose_060616/20060616?hub=Canada

**HenryN** · June 16, 2006, 06:55 PM

Re: Canada - Avian flu found in PEI (H5)

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/06160603/H5_Fatal_Symptoms_Canada.html

**Goju** · June 16, 2006, 07:01 PM

Re: Canada - Avian flu found in PEI (H5)

HPAI H5N1 confirmed in NA means no more chicken for me... and watch your kids on the football fields folks... rolling around in local geese poop? Not so innocent anymore.

**sharon sanders** · June 16, 2006, 07:16 PM

Re: Canada - Avian flu found in PEI (H5)

"Samples are being sent to CFIA's National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases in Winnipeg so that confirmatory tests can be run and the neuraminidase (the N in a flu virus's name) can be determined."

We will have to wait for the results to determine if it is H5N1 or not.

**HenryN** · June 16, 2006, 07:21 PM

Re: Canada - Avian flu found in PEI (H5)

Originally posted by Florida1

"Samples are being sent to CFIA's National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases in Winnipeg so that confirmatory tests can be run and the neuraminidase (the N in a flu virus's name) can be determined."

We will have to wait for the results to determine if it is H5N1 or not.

One report says the geese died June 4 (lots of time to determine HA cleavage site, no N1 required).

The press release said the H5 was low risk, not low path, which menas H5N1.

**HenryN** · June 16, 2006, 07:23 PM

Re: Canada - Avian flu found in PEI (H5)

June 16, 2006 - 10:52 PM Canada finds bird flu case, plans further testing

By Louise Egan and Marcy Nicholson

OTTAWA/WINNIPEG (Reuters) - Canada has detected a case of H5 avian flu in the eastern province of Prince Edward Island and plans further testing over the weekend to determine whether it is the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, government officials announced on Friday.

A gosling in a small backyard poultry flock in the western end of the tiny province contracted the disease but there is a low risk of human illness from the outbreak, officials said.

The last Canadian outbreak occurred in November 2005 on the other side of the country, in British Columbia, and involved low-pathogenic H5N2 strain. In that case no birds actually showed signs of illness but 60,000 ducks and geese were culled nonetheless.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said there is no evidence that the latest bird flu case is the high-pathogen H5N1 strain that has spread to 48 countries so far since its resurgence in 2003.

If it is, it would be the first case in the Americas. The H5N1 strain has killed 129 people in nine countries since 2003, mostly in Asia.

"Just because the virus was there does not mean that's what killed the geese," said CFIA veterinarian Jim Clark.

"Ducks and geese are natural reservoirs for avian influenza viruses. The viruses exist quite nicely in their intestinal tract and cause absolutely no illness or death in the birds. That would be the situation in this case," he said.

A sample from the non-commercial flock of about 35 ducks, geese and chickens was brought to the Atlantic Veterinary College for testing after four goslings became sick on June 4, Clark said. The geese were not imported and there were no known links to Asia.

The CFIA has culled the entire backyard flock and is monitoring a 3 km (2 mile) zone around the property.

Prince Edward Island has only seven commercial chicken farms -- compared with over one thousand in top producer province Ontario -- and there are none within a 10 km (6 mile) radius of the affected farm, industry group Chicken Farmers of Canada said.

"We are alert but not alarmed, at this period in time," said Lisa Bishop-Spencer, a spokeswoman for the group. "We're going to wait for the results before we really react ... the fact that other birds appeared healthy is a very good sign in our eyes."

Not all H5 viruses are highly pathogenic and not all will cause severe disease in poultry.

Prince Edward Island's health officer, Dr. Lamont Sweet, told Reuters that the results of further bird flu tests were expected next week.

He downplayed any risk of transmission to humans but issued a warning nonetheless.

"People need to continue washing their hands carefully after handling poultry," Sweet said.

Canada, which has had numerous low pathogenic outbreaks, reported a case of H5N9 bird flu in 1966, which was highly pathogenic, and a case of high pathogenic H7N3 in 2004.

<HR>
URL of this story: http://194.6.181.127/eng/swissinfo.h...05&sid=6819547

**Mingus** · June 17, 2006, 08:17 AM

Canada. Avian flu is detected in the Prince-Edward's Island

Machine translated from
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...7207#post17207

On Friday June 16, 2006
Avian flu is detected in the Prince-Edouard's Island
Canadian Press

OTTAWA

a goose died in the west of the Island-of-Prince-Edouard, this week, gave a positive reaction to tests of tracking of the virus of the avian influenza, let know Friday the Canadian Agency of inspection of food (ACIA).
Tests carried out by the laboratory of the veterinary College of the Atlantic, in Charlottetown, showed that it was about the H5 sub-type. The sample was sent to the national Center exotic animal diseases (CNMAE), in Winnipeg, to undergo more thorough tests there aiming at confirming the stock and the pathogenicity.

The results will be communicated as soon as they are available, that is to say not before Monday or Tuesday, in the best of the cases, Dr. Jim Clark indicated, Director of animal health within the ACIA.

It however indicated that certain indices tended to show that the virus found in this case was not the stock H5N1 which one currently finds in Asia and in other countries.

The goose belonged to a small chicken herd, geese and ducks. Although four geese of this herd died, none chickens fell sick, explained the specialist.
Nevertheless, by measurement of precaution, the ACIA, in.liaison.with the government of the Island-of-Prince-Edouard, implemented measurements of fight against the disease in the sector where was the herd and in the neighbourhoods of these places.

The plan of emergency intervention of the ACIA in the event of tracking of the avian influenza in a small herd was started after the confirmation of the presence of the virus, in particular depopulation of the contaminated herd, the setting in quarantine the places and the launching of an investigation into the possible sources of the infection.

**Bruce** · June 17, 2006, 12:36 PM

Re: Avian flu is detected in the Prince-Edward's Island-Canada

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="470"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" align="right" width="464">Canada confirms H5 avian flu virus in domestic goose
06/17/2006 -- 21:04(GMT+7) </td></tr> <tr><td width="6"> </td><td> Washington (VNA) - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on June 16 confirmed that a domestic goose which died in western Prince Edward island earlier this week had tested positive for an H5 avian flu virus.
Dr. Jim Clark, CFIA's director of animal health, said at this point there was no indication that this virus was the virulent Asian H5N1 that has killed hundreds of millions of poultry and more than 100 people around the world.
In fact, there was no evidence as yet that the avian flu had played a role in the death of the goose, he said.
Samples were being sent to CFIA's National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases in Winnipeg so that confirmatory tests can be run and the virus can be confirmed.-Enditem

</td></tr></tbody></table>http://www.vnanet.vn/NewsA.asp?LANGU...NEWS_ID=203752

**Bruce** · June 17, 2006, 12:38 PM

Re: Avian flu is detected in the Prince-Edward's Island-Canada

Avian flu detected on P.E.I.

Published: Saturday, June 17, 2006
CHARLOTTETOWN - A case of H5 avian flu has been detected in a gosling from a small backyard flock in the western end of Prince Edward Island.
Further testing on the bird will be conducted over the weekend to determine the exact strain and virulency of the virus.
"From the information we have received, there is a low risk of human illness at the present time," said Dr. Lamont Sweet, chief health officer for the island, said in a news release Friday.
"There is no evidence to suggest that the avian influenza virus can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of food, notably poultry and eggs. However, people need to continue washing their hands carefully after handling poultry."
There are potentially nine different subtypes of Influenza A H5, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They can be highly pathogenic or low pathogenic.
H5 infections have been detected in humans, causing illness and death in some cases.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is following established procedures to deal with the suspect case.
Sweet said his department is monitoring for any flu-like symptoms or eye infections in those who have come in contact with domestic or wild birds in the West Prince area.
The flu-like symptoms include the onset of cough, fever, runny nose or sore eyes within seven days of exposure to poultry.
Consumers should make sure poultry and eggs are thoroughly cooked to protect themselves from the possible risks of food poisoning.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/...10aa0953&k=993

**St Michael** · June 17, 2006, 08:00 PM

Re: Canada. Avian flu is detected in the Prince-Edward's Island

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/06160603/H5_Fatal_Symptoms_Canada.html

Commentary

H5 Positive Geese in Canada Had Fatal Qinghai Symptoms

Recombinomics Commentary
June 16, 2006

The owner of the birds, who raised them for personal consumption, told authorities he noticed four of his geese were walking oddly on Sunday. The next day he discovered four had died.

He disposed of three but took one for testing to the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown. The laboratory there confirmed the presence of an H5 virus.

The goose was part of a small, free-range flock of chickens, geese and ducks. Four of 11 geese in the flock were discovered dead on Monday. None of the other birds fell ill at the time but all have since been destroyed as a precautionary measure.

The above comments increase the likelihood that the geese died of H5N1 bird flu. Geese usually are resistant to low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI). H5N1 can attack the brain, especially the Qinghai strain since in has PB2 E627K, which is linked to neurotropism. Therefore, geese walking oddly is an indication of H5N1 bird flu infection. Since one of the geese was positive for H5, it is likely that the H5 is H5N1 and all of the dead birds were infected.

The Qinghai strain of H5N1 has never been reported in the Americas. However, prior to the identification of the Qinghai strain in China in May of 2005, none of the countries to the west of China had reported the Asian stain of H5N1. The isolates in Russia, Kazakhtsan, Mongolia, India, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa have reported H5N1 for the first time in the past 12 months.

H5N1 in North America would not be a surprise. North American sequences have previously been identified in Qinghai strains in Astrakhan.

**Theresa42** · June 18, 2006, 12:43 PM

Veterinarians, members of the family, others getting Tamiflu

Saturday, June 17, 2006
Avian flu virus in West Prince
By ERIC MCCARTHY

No one in the group of people milling around two Canadian Food Inspection trucks parked at the end of a farm's driveway were talking to the media Friday night.

Some of the people in attendance were dressed in anti-contamination-type coveralls and were loading items in plastic bags into the trucks.

Back lighting obscured the view of what was in the bags. A woman carrying a pressurized container was washing down the two trucks.

Earlier Friday the CFIA had reported that a dead domestic goose from western P.E.I. had tested positive for an H5 avian flu virus.

All birds on the farm property were subsequently destroyed as a precautionary measure.

The two trucks blocked entry to the Huntley farm property and entry was denied. One person said that the property was quarantined.

The farm property where the trucks were parked were known to raise domestic birds, including geese.

Dr. Lamont Sweet, chief medical officer said as far as he knows, this is the first case of avian flu discovered in Atlantic Canada.

There have been no cases of the deadly H5N1 strain reported in North America.

Sweet said samples of the dead geese have been sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Man., where more extensive testing will be performed to determine the neuramidase, or N of the virus.

The chief medical officer said the answers should be known by sometime next week.

Sweet said there is a low risk of human illness at the present time, but the situation is being closely monitored.

He also said the two veterinarians at the site have been given doses of anti-viral drugs, better known as Tamiflu, as a precaution.

Members of the family and anyone else in close contact with the flock has also been given anti-virals.

Sweet said it remains a mystery whether the virus was introduced to the Island by migratory birds or was present in the domestic poultry population.

Mark Van Dusen, manager of media relations for CFIA, said "the evidence so far is that it is likely not the H5N1 strain.' He said these sorts of things are watched closely.

Just a moment...

http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=210&sc=1

**Bruce** · June 18, 2006, 03:40 PM

Re: Veterinarians, members of the family, others getting Tamiflu

Originally posted by Theresa42

Earlier Friday the CFIA had reported that a dead domestic goose from western P.E.I. had tested positive for an H5 avian flu virus.

CFIA?
Like CIA but for birds? Central fowl intelligence agency