The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed the presence of avian flu on a second farm in Oxford County. Tests were performed at the University of Guelph after several birds on the broiler breeder chicken farm died over the span of a few days.
“The number of birds on the farm is 27,000 birds, and CFIA will euthanize the birds that are on these premises humanely,” said Dr. Abed Harchaoui, senior staff veterinarian with CFIA.
A turkey farm in Woodstock was the first in Ontario to test positive for avian flu. 45,000 turkeys had to be put down.
“I think it’s a grave concern for all farmers, especially poultry farmers. This endangers our livelihood. Without healthy birds we can’t make a living,” said Mark Reusser, a turkey farmer and an executive with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
Farms within a ten kilometer radius of both infected farms have been placed under quarantine to help keep the disease from spreading further. The CFIA says there is no known link between the two infected farms.
“While we can not definitively state how affected birds were exposed to the virus, avian influenza strains circulate in migrant wild birds and water fowl which pose risk for spreading the disease,” said Dr. Harchaoui.
“When we move from outside into the barn we change our boots, we change our clothes, we make sure that nothing from the outside enters the barn,” Reusser said.
He thinks the quarantines are a “wise move.”
“I think you do everything that you can to ensure that this disease does not spread,” he said.
Avian flu doesn’t pose a risk to food safety, as long as poultry and poultry products are properly handled and cooked. The CFIA says the disease rarely affects humans that are not in consistent contact with infected birds.
