Paris | Reuters — The United States is working on a bird flu vaccination scenario focusing on turkeys in the few states that gather the largest number of turkey farms, a move that would best meet a benefit-cost strategy, its chief veterinary officer said on Tuesday. However, no decision to vaccinate has yet been made, […] Read more
U.S. working on limited bird flu vaccination for turkeys
No decision yet made, U.S. official says
Animal health body backs bird flu vaccination to avoid pandemic
Vaccination should focus on free-range birds, WOAH chief says
Paris | Reuters — Governments should consider vaccinating poultry against bird flu, which has killed hundreds of millions of birds and infected mammals worldwide, to prevent the virus from turning into a new pandemic, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said. The severity of the current outbreak of avian influenza, commonly […] Read more
MPs get assurance on Canada’s biosecurity preparedness
Canada well prepared for foreign animal diseases, officials say
Officials from several federal agencies have reassured the public about Canada’s animal biosecurity preparedness. Witnesses from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spoke to MPs’ concerns about livestock diseases at a committee meeting last Wednesday afternoon. Biosecurity preparedness has been a relevant issue […] Read more
Avian flu outbreaks climb in Quebec poultry
Thirteen outbreaks reported in province so far in April
After a relatively quiet March with just one outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in domestic poultry, Quebec has turned up 13 outbreaks so far this month. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency in April has reported detections of high-path avian flu at 13 sites in that province, including: three commercial barns in the regional county […] Read more
U.S. begins testing bird flu vaccines for poultry after record outbreak
Four vaccines to be tested
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. government is testing four potential bird flu vaccines for poultry, officials said on Friday, after more than 58 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have died in the nation’s worst outbreak ever. The trials, conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, are the first step […] Read more
Ontario domestic dog dies of avian flu
Three poultry barns east of Montreal see outbreaks in space of a week
Pet owners are being warned not to feed their animals raw meat from poultry or game birds or allow pets to consume or play with dead wild birds after the death of a dog from avian flu in southern Ontario. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Tuesday reported the results of a necropsy on an […] Read more
Poultry producers brace for return of avian influenza
It’s hoped that monitoring wild birds and good biosecurity can help prevent another season of the disease
Reading Time: 3 minutes Spring may be a time of renewal and anticipation of a new crop, but for many poultry producers, this year it’s a time of uncertainty about a return of avian influenza. “We prepare every year for bird flu, but knowing what we went through last year, I think everyone is a lot more nervous,” said […] Read more
High-path avian flu pops back up in southern Ontario
Three outbreaks in Canadian poultry this month, plus skunks
Feather industry officials are calling for “extreme caution” among poultry farmers after cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza turned up at two southern Ontario properties in the past week. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it has confirmed cases of the virus detected last Friday in a backyard poultry flock in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, […] Read more
Flu experts gather with H5N1 risk on the agenda
Threat to humans from current strain seen as low
London | Reuters — The world’s leading experts on influenza met this week to discuss the threat posed to humans by a strain of H5N1 avian flu that has caused record numbers of bird deaths around the world in recent months. The group of scientists, regulators and vaccine manufacturers meets twice a year to decide […] Read more
Bird flu prompts AgriStability invite
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta poultry producers have until the end of February to sign up for the 2002 edition of AgriStability. The deadline for the income stabilization program was extended because of avian influenza outbreaks, the provincial government said. There have been 60 operations (commercial and non-commercial) in the province infected, with 1.4 million domesticated birds “impacted.” Many […] Read more
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