Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm
Re: Canada - LPAI H5 Confirmed on Turkey Farm
Nearly 60,000 turkeys from an Abbotsford farm are expected to be killed Monday after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed a positive test result for avian flu on the weekend.
Security guards were stationed Sunday at the entrance to the family-run E & H farms while agricultural experts prepared for the intricate and time-sensitive process of killing the birds with CO2 gas.
The CFIA confirmed the presence of the virus Saturday, which so far has only been reported in the one location on Lefeuvre Road.
It?s not yet known where the virus came from, CFIA veterinary program specialist Sandra Stephens said Sunday, but she said migratory birds are a prime suspect.
?The source can be quite a lengthy investigation because we have to look at every possible contact and movement,? she said. ?At this point of time we don?t have that smoking gun that says, ?I am the virus that walked in the barn.??
Initial testing has shown the virus is an H5 strain, which is an indication it could become highly pathogenic. However, results so far show that this strain is low pathogenic. Stephens said the specific strain won?t be determined for several days.
One subtype of the avian flu - H5N1 - has killed more than 250 people worldwide.
An avian flu outbreak in 2004 resulted in the culling of 17 million B.C. birds, but the virus was never detected in a human.
?There are absolutely no signs that this particular virus has spread outside of the affected farm and therefore we?re confident that there is no risk to the general public,? Fraser Health Authority chief medical health officer Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin said Sunday. ?Anyone who has been in direct contact with the diseased birds has a theoretical but small risk of developing infection. And so we?re watching them closely.?
The health authority will be monitoring workers within the vicinity of the affected farm, as well as people who will be involved in the bird cull, for signs they have contracted influenza.
Meanwhile, 23 farms within a three-kilometre radius of the area are under quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus. The quarantine will remain in place for at least 21 days after the cull, when a final test shows there is no sign of the virus, Stephens said.
Movement of people and equipment will be restricted, with precautions in place like changing footwear and clothing or spraying tires and wheelwells.
The affected location is actually two turkey farms owned by brothers Mike and Shawn Heppell, said B.C. Poultry Association president Ray Nickel.
?When I spoke to them, they were a bit shellshocked by it initially,? he said of the owners. ?It?s emotional and they?re feeling somewhat stressed with feeling the enormity of what happened.?
A man who answered the phone at Shawn Heppell?s residence said the family had no comment.
The owners will be compensated for the market value of the birds killed, said Mark Clarke of the CFIA, but he could not estimate what that will be.
The process for killing the birds starts with completely sealing off the barn, Stephens said.
From there, the birds should be gassed quickly before the lack of ventilation causes undue heat stress, she said.
?For the destruction, we?ll be using C02 gas flooding of the barn,? Stephens said. ?[The birds] almost go into an anesthetized state first. That?s one of the benefits of using CO2 is you get that little bit of that effect at first and then the birds go on to die.?
Once the turkeys are killed, they will be left in the barn and mixed with wood shavings for an initial composting period of seven to 10 days, she said. The temperature of the remains will be carefully monitored to ensure that heat generated during composting is sufficient to inactivate the virus, Stephens said.
From there, the partially composted birds will be brought out of the barn, covered in sawdust or straw, and allowed to fully decompose until the mixture eventually becomes usable soil, she said.
Nickel said the B.C. poultry industry learned a lot from the 2004 incident and is now much better equipped to deal with an outbreak.
In 2004, he said, the methods of destroying and disposing of the birds was suspected of spreading the virus to other farms.
For example, he said, birds were destroyed outside of the farm facilities, where wind could blow feathers and dust off-site.
As well, he said, some of the infected ?product? was moved off-site for disposal after it was destroyed.
Nickel said B.C. poultry farms now have the toughest biosecurity standards in the country.
crolfsen@vancouversun.com, with a file from Canwest News Service
http://www.vancouversun.com/Health/...+avian+outbreak+cull+birds/1217222/story.html
