TORONTO — About 14,000 ducks quarantined at a commercial farm in St. Catharines, Ont., will be euthanized because of the H5N2 avian influenza.
Harpreet Kochhar, chief veterinary officer with the CFIA, says the virus is a low pathogenic subtype, meaning it causes a milder illness in birds.
The CFIA says all birds on the infected farm will be euthanized, and it will oversee the cleaning and disinfection of barns, vehicles, equipment and tools to eliminate any infectious material that may remain to guard against the virus spreading.
Kochhar says investigators still don’t know how big the surveillance zone around the quarantined farm will be, but the CFIA is asking poultry producers to be cautious about any movement of people or birds on and off their properties.
Avian influenza rarely affects humans and does not pose a risk to food safety when poultry and poultry products are properly handled and cooked.
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