Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on 2nd Turkey Farm

[cartski]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

Health of Animals Act ( 1990, c. 21 )

http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/H-3.3/bo-ga:s_51//en#anchorbo-ga:s_51

COMPENSATION
Compensation to owners of animals

51. (1) The Minister may order compensation to be paid from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to the owner of an animal that is

(a) destroyed under this Act or is required by an inspector or officer to be destroyed under this Act and dies after the requirement is imposed but before being destroyed;

(b) injured in the course of being tested, treated or identified under this Act by an inspector or officer and dies, or is required to be destroyed, as a result of the injury; or

(c) reserved for experimentation under paragraph 13(2)(a).

Amount of compensation

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the amount of compensation shall be
(a) the market value, as determined by the Minister, that the animal would have had at the time of its evaluation by the Minister if it had not been required to be destroyed
minus

(b) the value of its carcass, as determined by the Minister.

Maximum value

(3) The value mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) shall not exceed any maximum amount established with respect to the animal by or under the regulations.
Additional compensation
(4) In addition to the amount calculated under subsection (2), compensation may include such costs related to the disposal of the animal as are permitted by the regulations.
1990, c. 21, s. 51; 1997, c. 6, s. 69.

Emphasis added.

[HenryN]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

January 28, 2009

• <LI class=doubleLineBullet>The humane destruction of approximately 60,000 birds has been completed on the premises in British Columbia where H5 avian influenza was detected. <LI class=doubleLineBullet>People are rarely affected by avian influenza, except in a limited number of cases when individuals were in close contact with infected birds. Nevertheless, public health authorities have taken precautionary measures as warranted. <LI class=doubleLineBullet>Federal and provincial animal welfare experts, along with a representative from the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (BC SPCA), were on hand to oversee the euthanasia process. <LI class=doubleLineBullet>The carcasses are being composted inside the barns, and temperatures are being monitored to ensure the virus is effectively inactive. <LI class=doubleLineBullet>These procedures are consistent with provincial environmental regulations and internationally accepted disease control guidelines. <LI class=doubleLineBullet>Twenty-two other poultry operations within the three-kilometre radius around the infected farm remain under quarantine and are being closely monitored for signs of illness. <LI class=doubleLineBullet>Another farm outside the three-kilometre radius which is linked to the index premises through previous equipment movement remains under quarantine.
• To date, all other commercial flocks tested within the three-kilometre surveillance zone, for both marketing and surveillance purposes, have been negative for avian influenza. Surveillance testing will continue weekly for a twenty-one day period.

<HR>January 26, 2009

Avian Influenza Response Continues in British Columbia

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has started the humane euthanization of approximately 60,000 birds on the infected premises in British Columbia where H5 avian influenza has been confirmed.

• News Release - Avian Influenza Response Continues in British Columbia

<HR>January 24, 2009

Avian Influenza Detected in British Columbia

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the presence of H5 avian influenza virus in a commercial poultry operation in southern British Columbia. Pathogenicity refers to the severity of the illness caused in birds. Tests to date indicate that the strain of AI in this case is low pathogenic. Further testing is underway to confirm pathogenicity and to determine the precise subtype and strain of the virus.

• News Release - Avian Influenza Detected In British Columbia

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/...tuatione.shtml

[cartski]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

Other bird flocks may be spared
Tests ongoing, but 24 quarantined farms near outbreak all show negative results, so far

Kent Spencer
The Province

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=99579f4f-4c47-4d58-9186-7a7af862a1ca

Thursday, January 29, 2009


Fraser Valley farmers worried about the threat of avian flu received some good news yesterday.

The first round of tests at 24 Abbotsford farms came back "all negative," said Ray Nickel, president of the B.C. Poultry Association.

"If the outbreak is isolated at one farm, it would be a successful outcome," said Nickel. "I sense a certain amount of relief among the farmers."

Dr. Sandra Stephens of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said additional tests will be conducted for the next three weeks.

"There is no evidence of an active infection at this time, but it's possible the flu could be circulating at a very slow rate," said Stephens, a disease-control specialist sent to Abbotsford from Saskatoon.

The flu virus usually takes four to five days to show itself; tests have been conducted since the outbreak was detected seven days ago at E&H Farms on Lefeuvre Road in Abbotsford, where almost 60,000 turkeys have been destroyed.

Twenty-four other farms in a three-kilometre radius have since been tested and quarantined with large orange signs warning, "Avian Influenza Measures in Effect." The flu is believed to be a type not easily transferable to humans.

Nickel said farmers have been anguished while awaiting the fate of their birds.

In 2004, 17 million chickens were culled in the Fraser Valley, the largest cull in Canadian history.

"We have a heightened sense of anxiety because of what happened in 2004," said Nickel. "Many of these farms were depopulated.

"These are significant businesses and there are significant risks incurred by this. Most of us are highly leveraged with the banks. Chests get a little tighter."

Flocks culled in 2004 included Nickel's. He estimated the value of his chickens at $700,000 to $800,000, only partly covered by compensation and insurance. One farm was out of production for two years.

There is no cost estimate for E&H's culled turkeys because not all the birds were mature. Nickel said a mature bird sells for about $20.

The Vancouver Humane Society, meanwhile, said the Fraser Valley's third flu outbreak in five years should have been expected.

Leanne McConnachie said keeping large numbers of birds in closed facilities is "a breeding ground for disease."

"It allows disease to spread quickly and mutation of the virus to occur," said McConnachie, director of the society's farm-animal program.

"If the animals weren't so close together, the bacteria wouldn't have a chance to take hold," she said.

She said the society is still concerned about the carbon-dioxide gas used to kill the birds. "Studies with rats and mice have shown it is quite painful, a slow asphyxiation. There are quicker methods," she said.

kspencer@theprovince.com

? The Vancouver Province 2009

[cartski]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

B.C. academics seem to have been well prepared, after the 2004 outbreak, for another one:

http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/avian_research/conference.htm

A very nice overview and summary presentation from this conference:

http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/avian_research/documents/Andrew%20Larder.ppt

A rather funny and serious presentation of the wild bird, poultry link:

http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/avian_research/documents/Ron%20Ydenberg.ppt#1

J.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

Two more farms under quarantine

Christina Toth, The Times

Published: Friday, January 30, 2009

Two more poultry farms have been quarantined in a measure to prevent the spread of an avian influenza virus, bringing the number of farms under quarantine to 26.

The sites are being closely monitored for signs of illness.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency disease specialist Dr. Sandra Stephens said the step was taken after investigators learned someone who had been on the farms also had contact with the E & H farm.

Last week, CFIA officials confirmed that an H5 strain avian influenza virus had infected 60,000 turkeys of various ages in one barn at the E & H Farms.

The two new farms under quarantine are outside the original three-kilometre restricted area, and more sites may be added, Stephens warned.
"We are trying to uncover all possible stones that might reveal where potentially this virus came from and where potentially it could be taken to," Stephens told media on Wednesday.

This particular strain of virus is not considered to be highly pathogenic or infectious, but CFIA ordered the flocks, owned by Shawn and Mike Heppel, to be destroyed.

The birds were humanely euthanized with carbon dioxide on Monday and Tuesday, the CFIA reports. Federal and provincial animal welfare experts, along with a representative from the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (BC SPCA), were in attendance to oversee the process.

To date, all the commercial flocks tested within the three-kilometre surveillance zone - for both marketing and surveillance purposes - have been negative for avian influenza. Surveillance testing will continue weekly for a 21-day period, the CFIA reports.

http://www.canada.com/abbotsfordtimes/news/story.html?id=8a008cb1-eb9d-435f-9735-85b11c55df88

[Diane Morin]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

Tests show avian flu local to lone B.C. farm

Updated Sat. Jan. 31 2009 11:12 AM ET
The Canadian Press

<!-- dateline -->VANCOUVER<!-- /dateline --> -- Avian flu found on one Fraser Valley turkey farm has not spread to any other farms in the quarantine area.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says so far all commercial flocks have tested negative in the three-kilometre quarantine zone set up to stop a virus from spreading.

Authorities had to destroy 60,000 turkeys earlier this week at a farm in Abbotsford, B.C., and the birds carcasses are being composed with in the barns to prevent further spread of the virus.

The H5 virus was discovered in some of the birds in one barn on the farm.
Further tests that would indicate how virulent the virus strain is still have not been completed.

The agency says additional quarantines may be set up as the investigation continues.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090131/avian_flu_090131/20090131?hub=SciTech

[Giuseppe]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

The Canadian Press: Experts can't explain three avian flu outbreaks in B.C.'s Fraser Valley

Experts can't explain three avian flu outbreaks in B.C.'s Fraser Valley

VANCOUVER, B.C. ?

Three of four of the most recent avian flu outbreaks in Canada have broken out in British Columbia's Fraser Valley but despite years of trying to figure it out, they still can't explain why the valley attracts the virus.


In the latest outbreak, 60,000 turkeys were culled on an Abbotsford, B.C., farm last week.

Tests so far indicate the virus has not spread to any other poultry producers within a three-kilometre quarantine zone.

That wasn't the case in the valley's first outbreak in 2004 when 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 - was destroyed.

The second Fraser Valley outbreak in November 2005 saw two duck farms infected with the H5N2 strain of the virus.

In 2007, a highly pathogenic H7N3 strain was found in Saskatchewan on a farm that produced hatching eggs to produce broiler chickens.

Experts have difficulty explaining why the Fraser Valley has been hit so often but there are theories.

"We're on the Pacific flyway so there are lots of birds passing through every year," says Ron Lewis, the chief veterinary officer for British Columbia.

"And we know wild waterfowl carry a variety of different strains of avian influenza."

People can easily walk over the areas where wild waterfowl have been.

"And we know avian influenza has some capability of aerosol transmission," he says.

Lewis and Sandra Stephens, veterinary program specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, suspect the main culprits are the wild birds moving throughout North America and the world on migratory flyways.

Avian influenza virus is prolific and when wild waterfowl have it "they shed tremendous numbers of viral particles."

"All these birds when they get to their summer or wintering grounds they co-mingle," says Stephens.

And North American flyways are not completely isolated from others.

"Although you tend to think of the North American flyways as being separate from Europe and Asia, in fact there is some crossover in the northern breeding grounds," she says.

The huge concentration of commercial poultry producers in the Fraser Valley is also a factor in the spread.

Any poultry producer faces being exposed to migratory birds.

"But where we have more concerns are areas like the Fraser Valley or the Niagara Peninsula where there are large concentrations of poultry farms close together," says Stephens.

Calvin Breukelman of the B.C. Poultry Association estimates there are about 600 poultry producers in the Fraser Valley in an industry worth close to $1 billion.

Such concentration occurred for obvious economic reasons: close access to a large market.

"In an ideal world we of course wouldn't have this concentration but it's not ideal and we have to do whatever we can to reduce the impact of that concentration," says Lewis.

Perhaps the biggest worry facing producers and the general population is the likelihood of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus that killed hundreds of people in Asia, Africa and Europe occurring here.

Lewis suggests it's highly unlikely.

In countries where H5N1 occurred there are very close living conditions between poultry and people, he says.

"We don't have that kind of proximity to wild and commercial ducks co-habiting in many cases that is present in those countries," he says.

Moreover, Lewis says, the intense biosecurity measures introduced in Canada after the 2004 Fraser Valley outbreak are not practised in many of those countries.

"We now have a mandatory biosecurity program in place for all of the commercially-regulated poultry industry," he says.

"The industry has achieved a very high level of compliance with those biosecurity protocols," says Lewis, estimating the compliance rate at about 98 per cent of the industry.

Initial testing for avian viruses also can now be done in Abbotsford.

"So we have eliminated the delays in having to ship samples for testing at the federal lab," says Lewis.

Poultry producers in the Fraser Valley are still awaiting tests on the latest outbreak determining how contagious the virus may be.

"It sometimes can take a number of weeks to get the result," says Stephens.

The presence of H5 virus has been established but its specificity, or neuraminidase subtype which is the N in the virus name, isn't known yet.

That H5 virus was detected in some turkeys on a property owned by two brothers last month.

The avian flu has many different sub types with 16 different H's, or hemagglutinin, and nine different N's, meaning there are 144 possible combinations of the flu virus.

The virus must be grown in a lab culture and the latest sample has taken longer than expected.

"Some viruses grow (in a lab culture) more readily than others and there's no way of knowing which virus will grow quicker than another," says Stephens.
-

<cite cite="http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h9dxZhZJVQMtONscHXD4E7Oy9EGQ">The Canadian Press: Experts can't explain three avian flu outbreaks in B.C.'s Fraser Valley</cite>

[Shiloh]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...dabirdflu.html


Washington state increases bird-flu tests after outbreaks in British Columbia

Three of four of the latest avian flu outbreaks in Canada have been in the Fraser Valley. As a precaution, the Washington Department of Agriculture has increased tests for the virus at 13 farms in Whatcom County.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia ?

Three of four of the latest avian flu outbreaks in Canada have been in the Fraser Valley, possibly because of the region's popularity with migratory waterfowl, experts say.

In the latest outbreak, that H5 strain of the virus was detected in some turkeys on a property owned by two brothers last month and 60,000 turkeys were culled on an Abbotsford farm last week.

Tests indicate the virus has not spread to any other poultry producers within a quarantine zone of about two miles, but the Washington Department of Agriculture increased tests for the virus at 13 farms in Whatcom County, a few miles to the south, as a precaution.

Washington has never had a confirmed case of bird flu, even in 2004, when the Fraser Valley was hit by a highly contagious H7-type flu. Farm after farm was quarantined and in the end about 15 million birds - almost the entire poultry population in the valley - was destroyed.

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

Canada's only bird flu outbreak outside the region was in 2007, when a highly pathogenic H7N3 strain was found in Saskatchewan on a farm that produced hatching eggs to produce broiler chickens.

Ronald J. Lewis, the province's chief veterinary officer, and Sandra Stephens, veterinary program specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, suspect the culprits in British Columbia are mainly migratory birds.

"We're on the Pacific flyway, so there are lots of birds passing through every year," Lewis said, "and we know wild waterfowl carry a variety of different strains of avian influenza."

In addition, people can easily walk over the areas where wild waterfowl have been, Lewis adds, "and we know avian influenza has some capability of aerosol transmission."

Avian influenza virus is prolific and when wild waterfowl have it "they shed tremendous numbers of viral particles," Stephens said. "All these birds, when they get to their summer or wintering grounds, they co-mingle."

Nor are North America's flyways altogether isolated, she added.

"Although you tend to think of the North American flyways as being separate from Europe and Asia, in fact there is some crossover in the northern breeding grounds," Stephens said.

The concentration of commercial poultry producers in the Fraser Valley is also a factor in the outbreaks, she added.

Although any poultry producer can be exposed to migratory birds, "where we have more concerns are areas like the Fraser Valley or the Niagara Peninsula where there are large concentrations of poultry farms close together," she said.

Calvin Breukelman of the British Columbia Poultry Association estimates there are about 600 poultry producers in the Fraser Valley, an industry worth close to $1 billion Canadian, chiefly because of the proximity to the Vancouver metropolitan area.

"In an ideal world we of course wouldn't have this concentration, but it's not ideal and we have to do whatever we can to reduce the impact of that concentration," Lewis said.

Despite the outbreaks, Lewis said it was highly unlikely that the region would be hit with the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus that killed hundreds of people in Asia, Africa and Europe.

"We don't have that kind of proximity (of large numbers of humans) to wild and commercial ducks, cohabiting in many cases, that is present in those countries," he said.

He also cited prevention measures adopted by Canada after the 2004 outbreak. He estimated compliance at about 98 percent of the industry.

Initial testing for avian viruses can now be done in Abbotsford, "so we have eliminated the delays in having to ship samples for testing at the federal lab," Lewis added.

Fraser Valley poultry producers are awaiting tests to determining how contagious the virus in the latest outbreak may be. Results may be weeks away, Stephens said.

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

Washington has never had a confirmed case of bird flu

Another version of this story and comments regarding the above statement are at:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93004

.

[Shiloh]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/580715

More B.C. poultry operations under quarantine in hunt for avian flu

Feb 01, 2009 07:04 PM

THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER?The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it has quarantined several more poultry operations in the Fraser Valley after an avian flu outbreak forced the slaughter of 60,000 turkeys last month.

The watchdog agency says there are now 36 premises under quarantine, including seven more outside the three-kilometre radius of the infected turkey barn and two inside that radius.

The newly quarantined buildings were identified as a result of an assessment of the movement of people, products and equipment.

The agency says all the flocks under surveillance have tested negative for the avian influenza virus but adds monitoring and testing will continue.

Meanwhile, the agency says in-barn composting is underway at the two barns where the H5 strain of the virus was first detected.

This is the third avian-flu outbreak in the Fraser Valley in the last few years ? a frequency scientists believe is related to the high-concentration of poultry operations in the valley and its location under the Pacific migratory flyway for wild birds that carry the disease.

[gsgs]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

did they determine the N-type ?
did they determine what viruses are similar ?
(Mexican H5N2, USA H5N1, German H5N3 ?)

((((when)will they give us sequences??))))

[Diane Morin]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=roundHeaderText images target="_blank" href="http://www.ctv.ca" roundAMBlueheadermiddle.jpg);? local990 mar TD <><TD images target="_blank" href="http://www.ctv.ca" local990 mar TD <></TD><TR><TD images target="_blank" href="http://www.ctv.ca" local990 mar </TD><TD class=middleBodyRoundAM>The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed an H5 avian influenza outbreak on a turkey farm in B.C.'s Fraser Valley on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009.

<TABLE id=morePhotos><TBODY><TR><TD>A barn containing some of the 60,000 turkeys on E&H Farms in Abbotsford, BC is idle after turkeys on the farm tested positive for the H5 avian flu virus, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009. (Richard Lam / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

A bio hazard control sign sits outside a poultry farm in Abbotsford, B.C. after a turkey farm in the area tested positive for the H5 avian flu virus, Saturday, January 24, 2009. (Richard Lam / THE CANADIAN PRESS)




</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Nine new farms quarantined for avian flu

Updated: Sun Feb. 01 2009 16:56:56

<SCRIPT language=javascript type=text/javascript> var byString = ""; var sourceString = "The Canadian Press"; if ((sourceString != "") && (byString != "")) { document.write(byString + ", "); } else { document.write(byString); }</SCRIPT>The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER -- Three of four of the most recent avian flu outbreaks in Canada have broken out in British Columbia's Fraser Valley but despite years of trying to figure it out, they still can't explain why the valley attracts the virus.

In the latest outbreak, 60,000 turkeys were culled on an Abbotsford, B.C., farm last week.
Tests so far indicate the virus has not spread to any other poultry producers within a three-kilometre quarantine zone.

However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Sunday it has quarantined seven premises outside the zone and two more inside, based on an analysis of the movement of people, products and equipment.

In all, there are 36 premises under quarantine but the agency says so far all of those flocks have tested negative for the virus.

This is the third avian-flu outbreak in the Fraser Valley in the last few years -- a frequency scientists believe is related to the high-concentration of poultry operations in the valley and its location under the Pacific migratory flyway for wild birds that carry the disease.

That wasn't the case in the valley's first outbreak in 2004 when 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 -- was destroyed.

The second Fraser Valley outbreak in November 2005 saw two duck farms infected with the H5N2 strain of the virus.

In 2007, a highly pathogenic H7N3 strain was found in Saskatchewan on a farm that produced hatching eggs to produce broiler chickens.
Experts have difficulty explaining why the Fraser Valley has been hit so often but there are theories.

"We're on the Pacific flyway so there are lots of birds passing through every year," says Ron Lewis, the chief veterinary officer for British Columbia.
"And we know wild waterfowl carry a variety of different strains of avian influenza."

People can easily walk over the areas where wild waterfowl have been.

"And we know avian influenza has some capability of aerosol transmission," he says.

Lewis and Sandra Stephens, veterinary program specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, suspect the main culprits are the wild birds moving throughout North America and the world on migratory flyways.

Avian influenza virus is prolific and when wild waterfowl have it "they shed tremendous numbers of viral particles."

"All these birds when they get to their summer or wintering grounds they co-mingle," says Stephens.
And North American flyways are not completely isolated from others.

"Although you tend to think of the North American flyways as being separate from Europe and Asia, in fact there is some crossover in the northern breeding grounds," she says.

The huge concentration of commercial poultry producers in the Fraser Valley is also a factor in the spread.

Any poultry producer faces being exposed to migratory birds.

"But where we have more concerns are areas like the Fraser Valley or the Niagara Peninsula where there are large concentrations of poultry farms close together," says Stephens.

Calvin Breukelman of the B.C. Poultry Association estimates there are about 600 poultry producers in the Fraser Valley in an industry worth close to $1 billion.

Such concentration occurred for obvious economic reasons: close access to a large market.

"In an ideal world we of course wouldn't have this concentration but it's not ideal and we have to do whatever we can to reduce the impact of that concentration," says Lewis.

Perhaps the biggest worry facing producers and the general population is the likelihood of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus that killed hundreds of people in Asia, Africa and Europe occurring here.

Lewis suggests it's highly unlikely.
In countries where H5N1 occurred there are very close living conditions between poultry and people, he says.

"We don't have that kind of proximity to wild and commercial ducks co-habiting in many cases that is present in those countries," he says.

Moreover, Lewis says, the intense biosecurity measures introduced in Canada after the 2004 Fraser Valley outbreak are not practised in many of those countries.

"We now have a mandatory biosecurity program in place for all of the commercially-regulated poultry industry," he says.

"The industry has achieved a very high level of compliance with those biosecurity protocols," says Lewis, estimating the compliance rate at about 98 per cent of the industry.

Initial testing for avian viruses also can now be done in Abbotsford.

"So we have eliminated the delays in having to ship samples for testing at the federal lab," says Lewis.

Poultry producers in the Fraser Valley are still awaiting tests on the latest outbreak determining how contagious the virus may be.

"It sometimes can take a number of weeks to get the result," says Stephens.

The presence of H5 virus has been established but its specificity, or neuraminidase subtype which is the N in the virus name, isn't known yet.

That H5 virus was detected in some turkeys on a property owned by two brothers last month.
The avian flu has many different sub types with 16 different H's, or hemagglutinin, and nine different N's, meaning there are 144 possible combinations of the flu virus.

The virus must be grown in a lab culture and the latest sample has taken longer than expected.
"Some viruses grow (in a lab culture) more readily than others and there's no way of knowing which virus will grow quicker than another," says Stephens.






</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090201/bc_avian_flu_090201/20090201?hub=BritishColumbia

[cartski]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

did they determine the N-type ?
did they determine what viruses are similar ?
(Mexican H5N2, USA H5N1, German H5N3 ?)

((((when)will they give us sequences??))))

From the original CN article:

"Initial testing for avian viruses also can now be done in Abbotsford.

"So we have eliminated the delays in having to ship samples for testing at the federal lab," says Lewis.

Poultry producers in the Fraser Valley are still awaiting tests on the latest outbreak determining how contagious the virus may be.

"It sometimes can take a number of weeks to get the result," says Stephens.

The presence of H5 virus has been established but its specificity, or neuraminidase subtype which is the N in the virus name, isn't known yet."

So we know that they don't know the N type yet.

Can we assume that "initial testing" means that sequences and virus similarity cannot be determined in Abbotsford?

If so, then the samples would go to Winnipeg, I guess. So add 2 days for packing, transport, and unpacking. Then add the expected time for conducting the appropriate tests. What are these expected times? Then add some time for the administration to get up to speed. So adding together those durations, when can the disclosure of the results reasonbly be expected?

J.

[Giuseppe]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

Low pathogenic avian influenza (poultry), Canada (2/2/2009) [WAHID Interface - OIE]

Low pathogenic avian influenza (poultry), Canada

Information received on 31/01/2009 from Dr Brian Evans, Chief Veterinary Officer, 59 Camelot Drive, Room 146 W, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, OTTAWA, Canada

-- Summary
Report type Follow-up report No. 1
Start date 12/01/2009
Date of first confirmation of the event 23/01/2009
Report date 31/01/2009
Date submitted to OIE 31/01/2009
Reason for notification Reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence 2005
Manifestation of disease Clinical disease
Causal agent Low pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5) Serotype Pending
Nature of diagnosis Laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to a defined zone within the country
Related reports
* Immediate notification (24/01/2009)
* Follow-up report No. 1 (31/01/2009)

-- Outbreaks
There are no new outbreaks in this report

-- Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection
* Unknown or inconclusive

-- Epidemiological comments
- All birds on the infected premises have been humanely depopulated on 26-27 January 2009 and carcasses will be destroyed on site by composting.
- The premises will remain under quarantine until 21 days following the completion of CFIA approved cleaning and disinfection.
- All activities are under the direct supervision of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
- Surveillance and control activities continue as defined in the CFIA Notifiable Avian Influenza Hazard Specific Plan.
- To date, there are a total of thirty-five quarantines in place, ten of which are outside of the 3km zone from the infected premises.
- Additional quarantines for contact premises may be issued as the epidemiological investigation and tracing of the movement of people, equipment and products continues.
- Tests so far have not detected the presence of virus on other premises within the 3km zone or on a high risk premises.
- Several attempts to isolate the virus from the index farm have not been successful yet which is an indication of the very low level of infection.
- Additional testing at the CFIA National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases is underway in order to characterize the virus.
Source of infection is still inconclusive.

Note by the OIE Animal Health Information Department: H5 and H7 avian influenza in its low pathogenic form in poultry is a notifiable disease as per Chapter 10.4. on avian influenza of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (2008).

-- Control measures
Measures applied
* Stamping out
* Quarantine
* Screening
* Vaccination prohibited
* No treatment of affected animals
Measures to be applied
* Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)

-- Diagnostic test results
Laboratory name and type CFIA National Center for Foreign Animal Diseases (National laboratory)
Tests and results: Species - Test - Test date - Result
- Birds - competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) - 24/01/2009 - Positive
- Birds - virus isolation - 30/01/2009 - Pending

-- Future Reporting
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.
-

<cite cite="http://www.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=7745" >WAHID Interface - OIE World Animal Health Information Database</cite>

[cartski]

Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm

"- Several attempts to isolate the virus from the index farm have not been successful yet which is an indication of the very low level of infection.
- Additional testing at the CFIA National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases is underway in order to characterize the virus. "

Is the first statement true?

The lab mentioned is Winnipeg:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/csce.shtml

J.