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Avian flu continues to concern ranchers in Alberta
Stephanie Rousseau
Posted at 7:22 a.m.
Poultry farmers in Alberta remain concerned about the risk of avian flu contamination in 2023. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ( CFIA), as of January 17, "there were a total of 60 infected locations in Alberta, 14 locations are still under quarantine [...] and 46 locations have taken steps to resume normal operations."
The agency specifies that there are currently two Primary Control Zones in Alberta . These zones are established within 10 kilometers of an infected location to prevent the spread of avian influenza. The movement of birds, their products and objects exposed to birds cannot take place without authorization.
Maria Leslie, public affairs manager for Alberta Chicken Producers , which represents poultry producers, is pleased that no new outbreaks have been found since November, but knows that the coming months could turn out to be less rosy. We exercise an abundance of precaution. Our farmers operate under tight biosecurity protocols.
She says 1.4 million wild or farmed birds have been euthanized in Alberta due to the disease.
We do not want to speculate on what is coming for 2023 because even in 2022, we could never have predicted what happened in Alberta. The risk of a resurgence of bird flu is still a reality, we are in a corridor for migratory birds , she adds.
Professor of health economics at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Guillaume Lhermie, says the return of migratory birds in the spring is expected to increase the number of cases. The winter is quiet, but since the avian flu follows the migratory flows, it is likely that there will be a flashback in the spring.
Guillaume Lhermie believes that it is quite likely that there will be outbreaks "because, especially in South America, there have been several cases declared in Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and even with human infection in Bolivia”.
Alberta notes that the bird flu virus appears to be circulating primarily in the southern part of the province since December.
Mortality associated with H5 avian influenza in Canada geese and some dabbling ducks continues in partially frozen rivers, reservoirs and ponds in southern Alberta. [...] Fresh or frozen dead geese have been seen on the ice near the Oldman and South Saskatchewan rivers, with concentrations near Lethbridge, Coaldale, Taber, Bow Island and Medicine Hat.
Biosecurity protocols to follow
A breeder who represents hatching egg breeders in the province, Jeff Notenbomer, is concerned. Bird flu has been circulating in the wild for years, but the strain circulating is terrible. It kills wild birds, which did not happen before, and it is transmitted in our farms very easily.
He says breeders are careful to follow biosecurity protocols.
“ Not a single hammer, screwdriver, chaff, sawdust or grain can enter without [being] cleaned or treated and there is always a risk. »
— A quote from Jeff Notenbomer, breeder
Once the virus circulates in a farm, transmission is very rapid. A flock of birds can be gone in 4 days and for us who produce hatching eggs it takes 18 months to get back to normal, it's a long process.
Hope for a vaccine
Professor Guillaume Lhermie believes that a vaccine could improve the situation in 2023. This is a strategy for which Europe is pushing enormously. There are two laboratories which are developing a vaccine against the influenza virus to limit losses, but also to limit supply disruptions and mass euthanasia carried out to prevent the spread of the disease.
“ We know today that it is very difficult to control the contagiousness of the disease with only biosecurity measures, a credible alternative is vaccination. The vaccines are expected probably for the fall of 2023. ”
— A quote from Guillaume Lhermie, Professor of Health Economics, University of Calgary
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So far, Ottawa has paid Canadian farmers $64.8 million in compensation in response to avian flu. All the speakers recall that avian flu is not dangerous for humans.
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle...olaille-poulet