Avian flu detected on third farm in southern Ontario

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has detected avian influenza (AI), also known as bird flu, on a third farm in southern Ontario.

The agency said the latest outbreak was confirmed on Wednesday, March 30, in a poultry flock in the Township of Woolwich.

“To control any potential spread of the disease, the CFIA has placed the premises under quarantine and is establishing movement control measures and recommending enhanced biosecurity for other farms within that area,” CFIA said on its website.

Bird flu was also detected in poultry flocks in the Township of Guelph/Eramosa on March 27, and in the Township of Zorra on March 28.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza, classified as H5N1, has been spreading in wild bird populations across the world, according to the CFIA, and has been a significant concern as birds migrate back to Canada.

RELATED: Ontario avian flu cases could rise as birds continue migrating north, CFIA cautions

In a statement earlier this week, The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs statement said there is no threat to food safety and avian flu is not considered a public health concern for people that are “not in routine contact with infected birds.”

“Ontario poultry and eggs are safe to eat when, as always, proper handling and cooking takes place,” the statement said.

Despite those assurances, the CFIA’s chief veterinary officer, Dr. Mary Jane Ireland, called it a “devastating disease for commercial or poultry operations,” in an interview with CityNews on Tuesday.

“Infected birds can shed avian influenza in their saliva, their nasal secretions, their feces, and it can also spread through contact with surfaces contaminated with the virus from infected birds like clothing, shoes, litter, feed and water,” she explained.

“Because the disease is in migratory birds … we expect we will find other situations of avian influenza and that’s why it’s very important right now with these migratory birds to take all the measures,” she added.

News of the Ontario cases prompted The Toronto Zoo to temporarily shut its doors to visitors at its aviary areas and zoo staff will be taking increased precautions to protect the birds at the facility.

Chicken farmers on high alert

Lisa Bishop-Spencer, the director of brand and communications with the Chicken Farmers of Canada, told CityNews a 24-hour command centre made up of farmers, processors, feed suppliers, veterinarians and other stakeholders is tracking and responding to avian flu cases as those are confirmed.

“They are constantly on guard and keep an eye on, and reporting, and testing and running all kinds of drills just to ensure that they are ready for these kinds of situations, and now we’re in a situation where they’re applying this knowledge,” she said.

Bishop-Spencer also said farmers have been taking precautions such as restricting on-site access, cleaning truck wheel wells and regularly changing footwear while on the property.

“Ontario is Canada’s largest province in terms of production of these poultry and egg products, and so we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to guard that supply and maintain the trust of Canadians in the products we sell,” she said.

“The effects are quite devastating if it gets into a flock, so it’s not a question of just sort of trying to monitor which birds get it. This is trying to monitor which flocks get it, so we want to make sure that we try to keep it out if it’s out and keep it in if it gets in.”