September 28, 2007

Canada's Ag minister confident in CFIA's handling of bird flu

Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Gerry Ritz on Thursday (September 27) expressed confidence in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, or CFIA's handling of the avian influenza strain found on a Saskatchewan poultry farm.

The CFIA quarantined a farm in Saskatchewan on Sunday after the presence of a highly pathogenic H7N3 sub-type of avian influenza was confirmed.

The CFIA said this is not the same as the strain circulating in Asia, Europe and Africa which has been known to cause human illness.

CFIA official Jim Clark said all the appropriate steps to contain the spread of the highly pathogenic sub-type of the virus will be taken, including the euthanising of all 45,000 birds found on the premises and disposing of them according to internationally accepted disease-control guidelines.

"The CFIA has a great deal of expertise and experience in handling situations like this, and I have every confidence in their ability to take the necessary measures to appropriately resolve this situation as expeditiously as possible," Ritz said in a prepared statement.

Ritz said the most important thing to note is that the domestic poultry industry is free from H5N1, which has been associated with human illness, and that the H7N3 strain is unlikely to cause human illness.

"Let me be clear, this situation does not affect food safety when poultry is properly cooked. None of the infected products from this farm were destined for the human food supply," Ritz said.