Avian influenza has been detected in Greater Victoria, on the Saanich Peninsula at a non-commercial poultry farm.
This case of ‘bird flu’ was detected on November 21st and is being handled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA), BC’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food and other organizations.
According to the CIFA, a non-commercial poultry farm is one that has fewer than 1,000 with less than 300 waterfowl, and this particular case came from a poultry farm of around 60 chickens.
The name and location of the farm which experienced this avian influenza outbreak has not been revealed to the public.
Unfortunately for this flock, the birds will likely have to be killed in an attempt to mitigate the spread of this infection.
There is no treatment for infected birds.
Currently, BC’s cases of avian influenza make up over 86% of all of Canada’s bird flu outbreaks.
In BC, there are 56 infected premises, with over 7,242,000 birds estimated to have been impacted.
In some rare cases, avian influenza can be contracted by humans, and earlier this month, a teenager in the Fraser Valley region of BC was the first Canadian human to be infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
Related:
This unnamed individual has been in critical condition at BC Children’s Hospital for weeks, but Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC’s Provincial Health Officer, said in an announcement earlier this week that their health is showing signs of improvement.
Dr. Henry also said in this announcement that no human-to-human transmission had occurred in this case.
Additionally, the individual contracting the infection was not linked to any contaminated poultry farms, but rather a sick dog is the prime suspect in how the teen got infected.
Human cases remain extremely rare, but Dr. Henry advised British Columbians to protect themselves by avoiding dead or sick animals, washing their hands and staying up to date on immunizations and seasonal flu vaccines.
Anyone who sees dead wild birds should report it to the CIFA so they can be retrieved and tested for avian influenza.
