It’s a fowl pandemic.Canadian poultry farmers are bracing for a wave of avian influenza — bird flu — after an explosion of cases threatens to result in mass culls of chicken farms.As of Wednesday, 53 poultry farms in BC and Alberta were under quarantine affecting almost seven million birds with smaller outbreaks in Ontario and Quebec.Almost the entire Lower Mainland from Harrison Hot Springs to Surrey was under red alert by the Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) affecting 39 farms since October 20. Likewise, 14 Alberta premises were under watch affecting another 1.7 million animals..Not included in the total are some 2,500 wild birds — the majority in Alberta and BC — that have tested positive or are suspected to have it. Given that Canada has no formal wild bird testing program, that number is surely low.And it’s significant because it is the wild bird population that is spreading it to domestic farms as they migrate this time of year, especially in the Lower Mainland which is a major migratory bird fairway.Bird flu, or H5N1, is spread much the same way typical influenza, the common cold — or even COVID-19 — spreads in humans: through close contact with infected individuals. Bird flu is particularly contagious, however, due to the density of chickens in coops and modern factory farming. A single infected bird has the potential to wipe out an entire flock. .The domestic animals don’t actually have to come in direct contact with the wild birds; coming into close contact with droppings is enough. As the wild birds congregate in fields and pastures, it’s usually humans who inadvertently transmit it in the barn through contaminated clothing and footwear.That’s why access to the barns is restricted to essential workers, feed trucks and veterinarians.The biggest risk is economic. Outbreaks typically result in the euthanization of entire flocks comprising millions of birds, higher poultry prices for consumers — turkey prices spiked more than 8% last Christmas after last year’s outbreak — and trade restrictions for producers. The US is presently experiencing an outbreak of its own in various states and has imposed restrictions on importing certain fresh poultry products until further notice, as has the EU and the UK.Numbers in Canada are hard to come by, but bird flu cost American producers more than USD$661 million last year and resulted in the deaths of 58 million birds.Although the risk to humans is considered low, there is concern that a rare cross-human infection could mutate into a potentially more serious variant outbreak among people. That’s essentially how the COVID-19 virus spread from suspected bats into the human population..“Based on the current evidence in Canada, the risk to the general public remains low and current scientific evidence suggests that the risk of a human contracting avian influenza from a domestic pet is minor.”CFIA.That’s why BC chief medical officer Bonnie Henry this month urged poultry workers to get flu shots as a precaution. It’s also more worrying because the latest H5N1 variant was only discovered in Canada starting in December 2021 and has since spread to every territory and province.But the CFIA stresses on its website there is no evidence that actually eating cooked poultry or eggs could cause transmission to humans.That said, pets and wild mammals such as skunks and raccoons have been known to contract H5N1.In April of this year, a domestic dog died after being infected with H5N1 in Oshawa after chewing on a wild goose. Again, CFIA is urging caution.“Based on the current evidence in Canada, the risk to the general public remains low and current scientific evidence suggests that the risk of a human contracting avian influenza from a domestic pet is minor.”
