With avian flu confirmed on a second Oxford County farm, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has expanded its quarantine zone – and it now includes part of Waterloo Region.
While the exact locations of the two farms that have dealt with confirmed cases of the flu are not known, the CFIA has ordered a quarantine for all poultry farms within 10 kilometres of the two locations.
According to one farmer who lives near the quarantine zone, affected farms in Waterloo Region lie south of Huron Road and west of New Dundee.
All quarantined farms are being watched closely for signs of disease, the CFIA said Wednesday.
Affected farmers are still allowed to sell their birds, but must first test them to ensure that they do not have the virus.
The bird flu affecting southern Ontario is of the H5N2 strain – the same strain that has been detected in British Columbia and several U.S. states.
The virus does not pose a risk to humans from a food safety perspective, provided poultry products are properly cooked.
On the two farms where the virus has been detected, an estimated 72,000 birds have either died or been euthanized.
There is no known link between the two farms.
