With 10,000 turkeys dead due to the avian flu, and a further 35,000 euthanized as a result, other poultry farmers in Ontario are paying even more attention than usual to their own birds.
“We’re all on high alert,” Kees Peeters, a Parkhill-area chicken farmer, said Monday.
“It’s a big concern to us.”
So far, the outbreak of H5N2 influenza has only been found on one farm in Oxford County.
All other farms within a 10-kilometre radius – 28 of them in total – have been placed in quarantine.
Officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency tell CTV News they’re keeping a close watch on the situation to ensure the outbreak doesn’t spread past the initial farm.
H5N2 influenza has already been found in birds in British Columbia, as well as Washington and other U.S. states.
Wisconsin was the latest state to be added to that list, with a case of the virus being announced Monday as having been confirmed in a commercial chicken farm.
It is possible the virus could mutate and end up being transmitted to humans – but seeing as it has already travelled around North America without doing so, University of Guelph animal health lab director Grand Maxie says, that is unlikely.
“The proof is in the pudding. This one has not mutated to date,” he said.
Although the virus has been found in various types of poultry, turkeys seem to be especially susceptible to it.
Avian flu does not pose a risk during humans consumption of birds, provided the birds are properly prepared.
