The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed a commercial poultry farm in Abbotsford has tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus. It marks the first case of avian flu detected in the Fraser Valley, where 80 percent of British Columbia's poultry farms are.
The infected premises have been placed under quarantine by the CFIA, and the ministry has notified producers within a 10-kilometer radius, the government said Thursday in a statement.
Previous outbreaks in the Fraser Valley have prompted culls of millions of birds, although poultry groups now say they have tight control measures to prevent the spread from one farm to the next.
>> Amanda Brittain, the director of communications with B.C. Egg said the affected flock was a turkey farm in west Abbotsford.
She said anytime the virus is detected, the entire flock must be humanely euthanized to prevent its spread.
In this case, Brittain said the farmer lost about 4,000 birds.
"It's very concerning to farmers ... this farmer would have lost his or her whole flock," said Brittain.
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Better prepared?
Lisa Bishop-Spencer, a director at Chicken Farmers of Canada, said when avian influenza spread through Canada in 2004, it first entered Abbotsford.
"The difference between us now and us then is that we've learned a lot about how we can mitigate the virus as best we can."
Bishop-Spencer said even though farmers are better prepared to deal with outbreaks, the new strain is highly pathogenic among wild birds.
"Usually we will
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