A fall wave of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has hit a cross-section of BC farms, but the response effort is so far keeping pace to contain the outbreaks.
“We have the capacity to continue this pace,” Clayton Botkin, executive director of the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, told stakeholders during an October 30 webinar.
This success has been due to diligent, early reporting of sick birds, a notable aspect in the response to date.
Since October 21, testing has confirmed cases at 15 premises across southern BC, from Campbell River to Chilliwack, affecting birds of all feather groups. Two premises are non-commercial operations, including a petting farm.
This year’s count is more than double the seven premises infected between October 20 and November 4 last year. Those premises were all commercial operations in the Fraser Valley.
Regular webinars for producers are helping ensure a steady flow of reliable information, while providing a chance for industry to ask questions.
October 30 webinar addressed the question of flock vaccinations, with officials reporting that two vaccines are currently registered for emergency use in Canada. No mass vaccination campaign of flocks or other livestock is planned, however.
Mandy Emery, a veterinary program officer with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said an initial analysis of vaccinations points to the primary benefit being to long-cycle flocks, such as layers. However, a federal task force on poultry vaccines is expected to deliver a cost-benefit analysis of vaccinations later this fall.
“We want to limit infections to our poultry population,” she assured producers. “We don’t need any more challenges.”
“They aren’t a final solution,” Botkin added. “They’re one tool in a complex situation.”
Poultry farms across the province moved to red-level biosecurity protocols on October 16, and have been keeping flocks indoors by order the province’s chief veterinary officer since September 17.
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