Avian Bird flu found on Canadian poultry farm*

Updated Thu. Sep. 27 2007 9:29 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

The fallout surrounding a Saskatchewan chicken farm with confirmed cases
of avian flu should not be as devastating as a B.C. outbreak two years
ago that caused the destruction of 17 million chickens, according to
health officials.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Thursday that the
infected farm's relative isolation should allow for an effective quarantine.

"Certainly in B.C. there's a very concentrated area with large numbers
of birds. In Saskatchewan, we have a smaller industry and it's spread
over a larger geographic area, so we don't have the same density of
poultry," Dr. Sandra Stephens, veterinary program specialist with the
CFIA, told CTV Newsnet.

The recent Saskatchewan quarantine and the British Columbia outbreak
were caused by the highly pathogenic H7N3 flu strain.

H7N3 is highly contagious in poultry, but is not seen as a risk to
humans. In the outbreak two years ago, two poultry workers became
infected and suffered briefly from flu-like symptoms.

It is not the same as the strain circulating in Asia, Africa and Europe
-- H5N1 -- which has been associated with human deaths.

"This is an H7 subtype so it's not closely related at all to that H5
subtype," Stephens said.

But Stephens added: "we do recognize that there is potential with avian
influenza viruses to have some capacity to produce illness in people.
Normally those conditions would be very mild."

The chicken farm is about 40 kilometres north of Regina and has been
quarantined since Sunday. The birds on the farm were not destined for
immediate slaughter and were not producing eggs for human consumption.
Stephens says the CFIA is taking decisive disease control measures on
the Saskatchewan farm. All birds on the infected farm will be destroyed.

The CFIA will then oversee the cleaning and disinfection of the barns,
vehicles, equipment and tools, to eliminate any infectious material that
may remain.

Normally, birds on any commercial operations within one kilometre of an
infected farm would also be destroyed, but it appears that there are no
other bird farms in the immediate area. Any poultry operations within 10
kilometres of the infected farm will be closely monitored for signs of
illness.

"Certainly we will continue to do surveillance on poultry in close
proximity, or any contacts that are considered to be at risk for at
least the next three weeks," Stephens said.

Gerry Ritz, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, said the agency
has a great deal of expertise and experience in handling situations like
this.

"I have every confidence in their ability to take the necessary measures
to appropriately resolve this situation as expeditiously as possible,"
said Ritz.

But while officials insist the food supply is safe, the U.S. has closed
its border to Saskatchewan poultry for now.

While it considers chicken from other provinces still safe, that could
change if more farms are quarantined.

The source of the infection is not known and the CFIA says it may be
difficult to confirm the source. They say the possibility that wild
waterfowl, which are natural hosts for avian flu, may have brought the
infection "cannot be discounted."

The agency also commended "the responsible actions of the owner, who
reported signs of illness at the earliest possible moment."

Chicken farmers are forced to follow strict biosecurity guidelines. The
birds aren't allowed to go outside and equipment brought inside is
disinfected.

Officials will spend the next days disinfecting the property, and the
next weeks determining the cause.

Unlike B.C. farmers, prairie producers usually have significantly more
space between them and their neighbours, making cross contamination less
likely, said Karen Armstrong of the Manitoba Chicken Producers.

With a report from CTV's Mark Rogstad and files from The Canadian Press