Avian flu detected at non-commercial poultry farm on Vancouver Island

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says avian flu has been detected at a non-commercial poultry farm on Vancouver Island’s Saanich Peninsula.

Officials are not releasing the location of the farm, but B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said the outbreak involved fewer than 100 chickens.

The CFIA has established a primary control zone in the area and is expected to issue an order to destroy the infected birds.

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“This is very upsetting for farmers, and often farm families as well,” Popham said.

“Farmers who grow poultry, it’s their livelihood and often their family is involved in the operation. And so it’s really difficult emotionally for people to hear an order like that — but it’s a really serious disease, it’s highly contagious.”

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The case brings the number of premises affected by the H5N1 influenza to 56 across the province.

The CFIA said the Saanich case was first detected Nov. 21.

“This one was reported as what we would call a ‘sick bird call,'” said CFIA veterinary program specialist Dr. Troy Bourque.

“So, the producer would have noticed some sick or dying birds – and then alerted either their veterinarian or CFIA to sample and test them, and then of course it came back positive for high-path influenza.”

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Popham said the risk of spread is elevated during the fall as birds migrate through the province, increasing the risk of contact with domestic flocks.

“(We are) trying to be proactive and having really strong biosecurity protocols in place as we manage ourselves through these seasons,” she said.

“It happens every year, we’re hopefully at the end of it.”

North America has been dealing with a concerning rise in the number of avian influenza cases in recent years. Concerns have grown this year, with the virus detected in some U.S. dairy cattle, along with a handful of human cases south of the border, mostly in dairy workers.

In B.C., a teenager became infected with a strain of the virus linked to wild birds, though how they contracted it remains a mystery. As of Tuesday, the teen remained in critical condition at BC Children’s Hospital.