Bird flu on Saskatchewan farm results in culling of 50,000 chickens

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says chickens infected with a highly pathogenic H7N3 strain of avian influenza on a farm in Saskatchewan have all been destroyed.

The strain is the same one which triggered an outbreak in 2004 in British Columbia that resulted in 17 million chickens being destroyed, but it is not considered a danger to humans.

As many as 50,000 chickens were culled on the farm, which is 40 kilometres north of Regina, using carbon dioxide gas; their carcasses have been buried in a remote area of the farm where normal decomposition of the bird carcass apparently effectively deactivates the avian influenza virus, which is an accepted disease control and biocontainment measure.

The CFIA says after the cleaning and disinfection of all barns, vehicles, equipment and tools on the property, and if no new cases of infection are found in the area, new birds will be allowed to be introduced onto the farm.

The CFIA will however continue to monitor any new flock to make sure they are virus-free along with another farm in the same area as a precautionary measure, for a period of 21 days.

The farmer will be compensated for the market value of all the birds destroyed, as well as any costs incurred in their destruction.

The CFIA says although none of the chickens from the farm reached the food chain, the disease would not make the meat unsafe for human consumption.

After the virus was discovered, the U.S. Department of Agriculture quickly banned all imports of live birds, including chickens and turkeys, from Saskatchewan along with all unprocessed bird products; a move which was shortly followed by Japan.

The bans are however unlikely to have much of an effect because the poultry industry in Saskatchewan is fairly small and the United States has not imported any poultry products from the province since 2005.

Avian influenza is a highly contagious disease in birds and the movement of live birds, bird products, or things that may have come in contact with birds may cause the spread of the disease.

General restrictions for the entire Province of Saskatchewan and additional restrictions for the three-kilometre and 10-kilometre regions around the infected farm apply and CFIA permits are required to move certain products; no restrictions apply to the movement of poultry meat and eggs purchased from grocery stores.

The CFIA's actions are in line with international scientific recommendations and guidelines.