November 25, 2005

 

All fowls at bird flu-infected Canadian farm culled
 

 

The culling of birds has been completed on a farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia, where a duck was confirmed to have a strain of the bird flu virus, a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) official said Wednesday.

 

Dr. Cornelius Kiley, a CFIA veterinarian, confirmed that all of the birds on the infected farm have now been destroyed.

 

He added that additional testing of the birds on the farm confirmed that a significant concentration of the low pathogenic North American strain of the bird flu virus was present on the farm.

 

On-site composting of the carcasses was also underway, Kiley said. He said this disposal method has been shown to effectively and quickly destroy the bird flu virus. It also allows the CFIA to limit the movement of potentially contaminated material.

 

Kiley also indicated the premises will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected next week.

 

He also said culling on a second farm of ducks was underway, with those operations expected to be complete by late Wednesday evening. Roughly 2,800 ducks were on the second farm.

 

"Again, we will use on-site composting for disposal, and the premises will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected," he said.

 

In total the CFIA has quarantined four operations run by the farmer.

 

The infection at the British Columbia farm is different from the virulent outbreak among birds in Southeast Asia, which has been blamed for more than 60 deaths. The H5 virus in British Columbia is a low pathogenic North American strain, Kiley stressed.

 

The virus that was found in a duck on the first farm may have been spread by a farmer or farm staff who had walked into the farm carrying the virus on their boots. But it is possible that wild birds, or droppings from infected wild birds, got onto the premises and infected the ducks, Kiley said.

 

The CFIA is conducting surveillance on 78 farms in a 5-kilometre radius from the infected farms. Approximately 1,300 birds have been tested and the results have been negative.

 

"These initial results strongly suggest the two farms represent a contained pocket of infection, although more testing is required before we can make definitive conclusions," Kiley said.

 

Testing of all premises in the 5-kilometre zone will continue over the next three weeks. If no additional infection is detected during this period, the CFIA will be able to declare the area disease-free, he said.