2nd Saskatchewan farm under quarantine over avian flu worries
Last Updated: Saturday, September 29, 2007 | 2:43 PM CT
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has put another Saskatchewan chicken farm under quarantine, but says the move is only a precautionary measure.
The small farm affected by the decision on Friday is less than three kilometres away from Pedigree Poultry, a much larger operation just north of Regina, where officials confirmed on Thursday they had found a strain of avian influenza.
The CFIA said the quarantine measures are standard given the close proximity of the two farms. It said the 20 chickens tested on what the agency calls a "small backyard operation" have shown no signs of disease.
More than 50,000 chickens at the Pedigree Poultry operation near Regina Beach were to be killed and all equipment thoroughly sanitized.
The H7N3 strain of influenza is fatal to birds, but isn't a danger to human health, and it's not expected to have much of an economic impact, according to Lisa Bishop Spencer of the Chicken Farmers of Canada.
She says much has changed since Canada had its last case of avian flu three years ago in British Columbia, where the virus swept through a number of farms, and that industry and government have developed a system to respond quickly to any future outbreaks.
She says she's confident the virus in Saskatchewan will be contained to the large commercial farm and that there will be little economic fallout, even if other countries close their borders.
"We export roughly 7.5 per cent of what we produce here in Canada," she told CBC News.
Second farm under quarantine over avian flu concern in Canada
09:47, September 30, 2007
Another chicken farm has been put under quarantine over fears of avian flu in Canada's central Saskatchewan province, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced Saturday.
But the agency said the move is only a precautionary measure, and there has been no signs of disease at the small farm, located less than 3 kilometers away from Pedigree Poultry, which officials confirmed to be infected with H7N3 strain of avian influenza Thursday.
The CFIA said the quarantine measures are standard given the close proximity of the two farms. It said it had tested 20 chickens of the second farm and found no signs of disease.
Pedigree Poultry is located 40 kilometers north of provincial capital Regina. More than 50,000 chickens there will be killed in a few days and all equipment sanitized.
An outbreak of H7N3 strain of avian flu in 2004 forced the killing of 17 million farm birds in British Columbia, costing the poultry industry dearly.
Last Updated: Saturday, September 29, 2007 | 2:43 PM CT
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has put another Saskatchewan chicken farm under quarantine, but says the move is only a precautionary measure.
The small farm affected by the decision on Friday is less than three kilometres away from Pedigree Poultry, a much larger operation just north of Regina, where officials confirmed on Thursday they had found a strain of avian influenza.
The CFIA said the quarantine measures are standard given the close proximity of the two farms. It said the 20 chickens tested on what the agency calls a "small backyard operation" have shown no signs of disease.
More than 50,000 chickens at the Pedigree Poultry operation near Regina Beach were to be killed and all equipment thoroughly sanitized.
The H7N3 strain of influenza is fatal to birds, but isn't a danger to human health, and it's not expected to have much of an economic impact, according to Lisa Bishop Spencer of the Chicken Farmers of Canada.
She says much has changed since Canada had its last case of avian flu three years ago in British Columbia, where the virus swept through a number of farms, and that industry and government have developed a system to respond quickly to any future outbreaks.
She says she's confident the virus in Saskatchewan will be contained to the large commercial farm and that there will be little economic fallout, even if other countries close their borders.
"We export roughly 7.5 per cent of what we produce here in Canada," she told CBC News.
Second farm under quarantine over avian flu concern in Canada
09:47, September 30, 2007
Another chicken farm has been put under quarantine over fears of avian flu in Canada's central Saskatchewan province, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced Saturday.
But the agency said the move is only a precautionary measure, and there has been no signs of disease at the small farm, located less than 3 kilometers away from Pedigree Poultry, which officials confirmed to be infected with H7N3 strain of avian influenza Thursday.
The CFIA said the quarantine measures are standard given the close proximity of the two farms. It said it had tested 20 chickens of the second farm and found no signs of disease.
Pedigree Poultry is located 40 kilometers north of provincial capital Regina. More than 50,000 chickens there will be killed in a few days and all equipment sanitized.
An outbreak of H7N3 strain of avian flu in 2004 forced the killing of 17 million farm birds in British Columbia, costing the poultry industry dearly.