The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced Thursday it would move forward with depopulating over 300 birds at Universal Ostrich Farms, near Edgewood, about 120 km northwest of Castlegar.

The farm has been in an ongoing standoff with the CFIA since last winter, when a cull order was given after two dead birds tested positive for highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HAPI).

The farm has already made several attempts at stopping the CFIA order, including an appeal denied in August. The stamping-out procedure is standard practice for infected flocks.

“The CFIA has respected all orders and decisions of the courts throughout the legal process and expects the ostrich farm owners and supporters to do the same now that the Supreme Court of Canada has issued its judgment,” the CFIA said via a Thursday written release.

It also reminded the public any obstruction of the process of officers performing their duties would be an offence. Universal Ostrich Farms has drawn crowds of protestors ever since the initial order.

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Canada’s active caseload of the virus now comes down to just eight of the 325 premises affected since December 2021.

Even if no additional cases turn up, though, many steps remain before the country’s “free from HPAI” status can be restored.

Reports from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) showed no HPAI detections in domestic birds from May 6 up until Sept. 11, when a commercial chicken and turkey broiler and layer operation, east of New Dayton in southern Alberta’s Warner County, was found to have the virus.

According to CFIA’s report to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), 390 birds on that premises died of the virus and another 1,570 were euthanized.

CFIA on Thursday (Sept. 21) reported detection of a new outbreak on another commercial poultry operation in the southwestern Saskatchewan R.M. of Maple Creek. Details on the number and type of poultry affected at that premises aren’t yet available.

A third outbreak was confirmed Friday in domestic birds at a “non-commercial, non-poultry” premises in central Alberta’s Red Deer County.

Past those three, five other non-commercial premises are still listed as “infected” — two in Alberta, two in Saskatchewan and one in British Columbia.

Despite the 21-month run of cases — which as of Thursday had impacted a total of 7.678 million birds across nine provinces — “country-level freedom from avian influenza remains the objective,” a CFIA representative said via email Friday.

While restoring Canada’s status as HPAI-free would ease export trade in Canadian poultry and eggs, CFIA noted it’s “not the sole determining factor in market access for Canadian poultry products.”

For one thing, the agency said, many trading partners, including in Europe and Asia as well as the U.S., are “facing similar challenges” with HPAI and it remains “important for all trading partners to work together to minimize the trade impacts of these outbreaks” as per WOAH policies.

The U.S., for one, had a similar break from HPAI cases in domestic birds this summer, lasting from May 18 through to late July.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reported outbreaks at live bird markets in New York’s Kings County (that is, Brooklyn) on July 25 and 28 and Aug. 3, then another at a live bird market in northern New Jersey’s Union County on Sept. 15.

CFIA today has agreements with the U.S. as well as the European Union, Philippines and Singapore which allow trade to continue from poultry and egg operations outside of primary control zones (PCZs) which are drawn up around premises that haven’t yet been cleared of infection.

Other trading partners’ policies, CFIA said, take the active PCZs into account — or they use other specific geographic boundaries that still allow unaffected poultry products to be exported. CFIA also said it continues to negotiate agreements with other countries to reduce avian flu impacts on trade.

Nevertheless, Canada still has a “stamping out policy” for HPAI — and that’s based on the goal of “eliminating the virus in domestic birds on infected premises and implementing movement control measures to prevent future spread.”

To declare Canada’s outbreak “resolved,” several steps remain for properties deemed infected, CFIA said:

• every outbreak in poultry across Canada is reported to WOAH as ‘closed’;
• the last PCZ in Canada is revoked;
• no lab results or investigations are pending;
• cleaning and disinfection are complete and movement restrictions are released on all poultry premises deemed infected;
• a report from the Canadian Notifiable Avian Influenza Surveillance System (CanNAISS) and reports from “passive surveillance” support country freedom; and
• a final report has been submitted to — and validated by — the WOAH.

As for the other five premises not yet released from quarantine, they “have not yet met the requirements” for release. CFIA said the quarantines it issues have to remain in place until a premises owner completes all required steps, including “primary decontamination” after infected birds are destroyed.

Primary decontamination — including destruction and disposal of all birds on the premises and related products such as eggs — “controls the risk of disease spread to other premises until cleaning and disinfection is complete,” the agency said.

Cleaning and disinfection, which take place following a site assessment with CFIA, will include removing litter and manure; wet-cleaning and disinfecting hard surfaces and structures; and cleaning and disinfecting tools and equipment. Those costs are the responsibility of the birds’ owner.

Once cleaning and disinfection are done, the CFIA evaluates the farm to determine when the quarantine may be removed — normally, at least 14 days after cleaning and disinfection, final inspection and approval. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The severity of the current outbreak of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, and the economic and personal damage it has caused, has led governments to reconsider vaccinating poultry. However, some, like the United States, remain reluctant mainly because of the trade curbs this would entail.

“We are coming out of a COVID crisis where every country realized the hypothesis of a pandemic was real,” WOAH director general Monique Eloit told Reuters in an interview.

“Since almost every country that does international trade has now been infected, maybe it’s time to discuss vaccination, in addition to systematic culling which remains the main tool (to control the disease),” she said.

The Paris-based WOAH is holding a five-day general session from Sunday, and will focus on global control of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI.

A WOAH survey showed only 25 per cent of its member states would accept imports of products from poultry vaccinated against HPAI.

The European Union’s 27 member states agreed last year to implement a bird flu vaccine strategy.

France, which spent about one billion euros (C$1.46 billion) in 2021-22 to compensate the poultry industry for massive cullings, is set to be the first EU country to begin a vaccination programme, starting with ducks.

“It is our responsibility to use other tools that are now available such as vaccination. And this, for animal health, for public health but also to respond to societal challenges,” French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said at the launch of the WOAH General Session.

Eloit said the EU move toward vaccination could prompt others to follow.

“If a bloc like the EU, which is a large exporter, starts moving in that direction, it will have a ricochet impact,” Eloit said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) told Reuters on Friday that “in the interest of leaving no stone unturned in the fight against HPAI, USDA continues to research vaccine options that can protect poultry from this persistent threat”.

However, it still considers biosecurity measures to be the most effective tool for mitigating the virus in commercial flocks, it said in emailed answers.

The risk to humans from bird flu remains low but countries must prepare for any change in the status quo, the World Health Organization has said.

Eloit said vaccination should focus on free-range poultry, mainly ducks, since bird flu is transmitted by infected migrating wild birds. Vaccinating broilers, which account for about 60 per cent of global poultry output, makes less sense, she said.

The H5N1 strain that has been prevalent in the current HPAI outbreak has been detected in a larger number of mammals and killed thousands of them, including sea lions, foxes, otters and cats.

— Reporting for Reuters by Sybille de La Hamaide; additional reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington.

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Ontario — which had such a ban in place this spring — reinstated it effective Sept. 23 through to Oct. 22 at the earliest. Saskatchewan put its ban in place effective Sept. 21; its Oct. 21 end date will also be subject to review.

Saskatchewan’s order prohibits the “movement to and participation of birds in shows, auctions, and agricultural fairs, as well as any other events where birds would be brought together from multiple locations.”

Ontario’s ministerial order, meanwhile, calls for “the prohibition of certain commingling events” in the province, citing “confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype Eurasian strain H5N1 in domestic poultry in Ontario as well as the large number of known commingling events scheduled for the months of September and October 2022.”

Ontario’s order defines “commingling events” as including bird shows; bird buy-sell-trade events; “the portion of any agricultural or other fair where birds are exhibited;” gatherings of birds from multiple locations for sport or education; or vaccination gatherings of birds from multiple locations at a single spot.

Ontario notes its ministerial order doesn’t apply to the “normal business carried out” at poultry slaughter plants, veterinary clinics, retailers of live chicks, pet stores, wildlife rehab centres, animal shelters, pounds or zoos.

Saskatchewan’s order sets out similar lists of banned gatherings and allowed exemptions, plus an exemption for “any activity where a person is lawfully exercising existing aboriginal or treaty rights.”

New cases

Since the most recent previous report on this website, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has reported new outbreaks of high-path avian flu in domestic birds in:

• Alberta: commercial poultry operations in Wetaskiwin County (Sept. 15), the M.D. of Wainwright (Sept. 16), the M.D. of Taber (separate outbreaks on Sept. 20 and 21), Athabasca County (Sept. 20), the M.D. of Willow Creek (Sept. 23), Camrose County (Sept. 27) and Beaver County (Sept. 28), plus a small backyard poultry flocks in each of Sturgeon County (Sept. 24) and Mountain View County (Sept. 27);
• Manitoba: four separate commercial poultry flocks in the Interlake-area R.M. of Bifrost-Riverton (Sept. 19 and 25 and two on Sept. 30), three separate commercial poultry flocks southeast of Winnipeg in the R.M. of Ste. Anne (Sept. 22 and 27 and Oct. 1), and a small “non-poultry” flock in the R.M. of Rockwood (Sept. 27);
• Saskatchewan: commercial poultry flocks in the R.M.s of Laird (Sept. 19), Britannia (Sept. 24) and Redburn (Sept. 30), backyard poultry flocks in the R.M.s of Weyburn and Spiritwood (one each on Sept. 28) and a small “non-poultry” flock in the R.M. of Buckland (Sept. 29);
• Ontario: small “non-poultry” flocks in Owen Sound (Sept. 19), Brant County (Sept. 20) and Grimsby (Sept. 21) and a commercial poultry flock at Clarence-Rockland, just east of Ottawa (Sept. 29); and
• British Columbia: a small “non-poultry” flock at Spallumcheen (Sept. 18) and a backyard poultry flock in the District Municipality of North Cowichan (Sept. 27).

As of Sept. 27, the total number of domestic birds impacted in Canada since the country’s latest run of high-path avian flu outbreaks began last December is estimated at 2.849 million across nine provinces and 156 affected premises, 69 of which have been released from federal quarantine.

In the U.S., as of Monday, outbreaks of high-path avian flu since the country’s latest run began in February are estimated to have impacted 46.86 million domestic birds across 40 states and 490 affected flocks — most recently one backyard “non-poultry” flock in North Dakota and one in Oregon, each confirmed Sept. 30.

Ontario’s Feather Board Command Centre, an industry body tracking bird disease outbreaks in that province and worldwide, said in an advisory Sept, 27 that “given what we know about the high prevalence of HPAI (high-path avian flu) in our current environment and taking into consideration migratory patterns and country-wide trends, we expect there to be continued occurrences of HPAI found in wild birds, ‘non-poultry’ operations and non-commercial flocks.”

If farmers and the poultry industry “do not continue to adhere to strict biosecurity measures, there is also high risk that your farm/operation may become infected,” the FBCC said. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday reported three additional outbreaks of H5 avian influenza in commercial poultry flocks have been confirmed since the Easter long weekend — one each in:

• central Alberta’s Kneehill County, between Calgary and Red Deer, confirmed Wednesday with highly pathogenic H5N1;
• the Regional Municipality of York in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), confirmed Thursday with high-path H5N1; and
• Quebec’s Estrie region, where an H5 type of avian flu was confirmed Thursday in the regional municipality (RCM) of Les Sources, north of Sherbrooke.

The agency didn’t say Thursday what type of birds or how many were affected in any of those outbreaks, nor did it say what subtype or pathogenicity of the virus was found in the new Les Sources case. The Les Sources case is the second this month in that RCM, while the new Kneehill County case marks the third there.

The new cases bring the total of avian flu outbreaks in commercial Canadian poultry flocks so far this year to 34: 14 in southern Ontario, 12 in central and southern Alberta, four in Quebec’s Estrie, two in western Nova Scotia and one each in west-central Saskatchewan and in B.C.’s Okanagan.

CFIA also continues setting up primary control zones (PCZs) surrounding infected premises, in which all movement of domestic birds and poultry products — whether in, out or through — is “strictly controlled” and requires CFIA permits. As of Tuesday, CFIA had officially set up 31 PCZs across the country.

As of Wednesday, each of the 10 provinces has also now confirmed cases of avian flu in wild birds and/or non-commercial or backyard flocks in this latest run of high-path avian flu through Canada.

With strains of high-path avian flu known to have been airborne for months now in migratory wild birds in North America, and spring planting coming up quick, Ontario’s Feather Board Command Centre said in a new advisory Tuesday it’s “important to realize that tilling and planting equipment will cover every inch of fields that may have been contaminated by wild birds.”

The avian flu virus can survive for “extended periods of time” in the environment, particularly in cooler weather, according to the FBCC, the feather sector agency monitoring bird disease outbreaks in Ontario and globally.

Water, wet soil and feces contaminated with the virus can thus linger after a migrating flock has moved on, the centre said. Soil and wild bird feces can stick to tires and undercarriages of field equipment, ATVs and other vehicles and be “easily” spread to other locations.

To reduce the risk of spreading the virus, the FBCC said, farmers should wash vehicles between farms, paying close attention to the vehicle tires and wheel wells. Visible mud and other “organic matter” should be removed from field footwear, which should then be scrubbed with a brush and hose, especially in the bottom treads.

All equipment used on-farm that could become contaminated should be cleaned, the centre said, and planting and tilling equipment should be kept away from poultry barns as well as driveways and any other areas where service vehicles come through to attend poultry premises.

If possible, the FBCC said, farmers should avoid driving near any barns that contain live birds. If need be, they should drive slowly to keep from kicking up dust, and should avoid parking near exhaust fans and air inlets except when required for loading or unloading.

Also where possible, poultry producers will want to close curtains on the side of a barn facing a field in which field work or tillage is taking place, particularly if it’s in dry and/or windy conditions.

After using field equipment, farmers should shower and change clothing and boots before entering a poultry barn, the centre said.

As well, the FBCC said, farms should keep records identifying who has been on-farm and where and when equipment and vehicles have travelled. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Provincial Agriculture Minister Lisa Thompson on Friday announced a ministerial order taking effect just after midnight Saturday (April 9), in which “the movement to and participation of birds in events where they commingle, such as shows, sales, swaps, fairs, sport and educational displays is prohibited.”

Thompson’s order is in addition to Canadian Food Inspection Agency requirements on the movement of birds into, out of or through primary control zones (PCZs) set up around areas where outbreaks have occurred.

The order expires May 9 “but may be extended if required,” the province said.

The purpose of the order, the province said, is “limiting the commingling of birds from different locations in order to reduce the risk of disease transmission.”

In Ontario, CFIA has so far confirmed high-path avian flu at seven poultry farms and in three backyard flocks since March 27.

The agency has also confirmed high-path avian flu of an “H5 subtype” in wild birds at two separate spots in the province. In one outbreak, reported March 10 in the Wilmot area just west of Kitchener, the disease was found in a red-breasted merganser and a red-tailed hawk. In the other, reported March 15, a redhead duck and a Canada goose were found infected in the Ottawa area.

Where most of the commercial and backyard bird outbreaks in Ontario in this run of avian flu were found to be of the H5N1 strain seen in recent months in Europe and later in the Maritimes and several U.S. states, the wild birds in Ontario were carrying an H5 subtype with “re-assortments of Eurasian and North American lineage,” CFIA said in a report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

First finding

On top of the outbreaks in commercial birds in Ontario, Nova Scotia and most recently Alberta, high-path avian flu has also been reported in recent months in wild and/or non-commercial birds in all four Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia — and, as of Friday, Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan ag ministry on Friday announced that samples collected from a wild snow goose found near Elrose, Sask., about 115 km north of Swift Current, had been confirmed positive by CFIA as having a high-path H5 strain of avian flu.

The snow goose marks the first finding of high-path avian flu in either commercial or wild birds in Saskatchewan since 2007, when commercial birds on a poultry farm near Regina Beach, Sask. contracted an H7N3 strain.

The Alberta and Saskatchewan cases coincide with the return of migratory birds to the region, many on migratory flyways through areas of the U.S. that have recently had outbreaks of high-path H5N1.

As of Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) had confirmed high-path avian flu in 25 states, of which five directly border onto Canada.

APHIS since February has reported cases in commercial and/or backyard flocks in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Virgina, Wisconsin, Wyoming — and, as of Friday, Montana.

APHIS said Friday it had confirmed high-path bird flu in two “non-commercial” backyard flocks in Montana — one in Cascade County around Great Falls, about 190 km south of the Alberta border, and the other in Judith Basin County, just east of Cascade County.

Saskatchewan’s ag ministry said Friday that protecting commercial flocks should include measures such as keeping wild birds away from poultry flocks and their food and water supplies, limiting visitors and monitoring bird health.

Small or backyard flocks are considered particularly high-risk for high-path avian flu infection as they are most often raised in an “extensive fashion” — that is, allowed access to outdoor pens or free-range, which means a “high probability” of contact with wild birds or contaminated environments.

The province said it would encourage small-flock owners to confine birds indoors if at all possible “during this high risk period of wild bird migration,” and to follow the same measures as commercial flocks. –– Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Tuesday confirmed a high-path H5N1 strain affecting birds on the property, describing it Thursday as a “non-poultry detection” among animals not produced for sale.

Thus, as per World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) guidance, Canada’s status as “free from avian influenza” remains in place, CFIA said, and the detections “should have no impact on trade.”

The agency has reported “several” confirmed detections of the same strain of AI in wild birds in Newfoundland and more recently in a wild goose in the same region of Nova Scotia.

The new outbreak “serves as a strong reminder that (avian flu) is spreading across the globe in wild birds as they migrate to and from Canada,” CFIA said.

Anyone with farm animals, birds included, “should practice good biosecurity habits to protect them from animal diseases.”

High-path H5N1 cases were also detected in December and January in “non-poultry” birds at two separate farms on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, marking Canada’s first high-path cases in domestic birds since 2015.

Analysis of the virus in the December case showed it was genetically lined up with the “Eurasian lineage” of high-path H5N1 that’s been circulating in poultry and wild birds in Europe and Asia in recent months.

In a separate Jan. 2 report, Ontario’s Feather Board Command Centre — an industry agency tracking both domestic and international bird disease outbreaks — said it’s believed a North Atlantic storm which hit that area of Newfoundland in early October may have “swept along” migrating waterfowl from northern Europe. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday reported a confirmed outbreak of a highly-pathogenic (‘high-path’) strain of H5N1 avian influenza at an exhibition farm in the province’s southeast. It marks Canada’s first high-path outbreak since 2015.

The exhibition farm houses multiple species of birds and other animals and does not produce birds for sale, CFIA said. Thus, it’s considered “non-poultry” by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Ontario’s Feather Board Command Centre, an industry agency that tracks both domestic and international bird disease outbreaks, said Wednesday the Newfoundland farm’s stock had included chickens, turkeys, emus, geese, ducks, guinea fowl and peafowl.

According to the report filed with the OIE, the flu strain killed 360 birds on the farm and another 59 were destroyed.

The farm is in a region the Newfoundland and Labrador government promotes as the “Seabird Capital of North America,” with “tens of thousands of migrating seabirds perched almost within arm’s length.”

Analysis shows the virus on the farm lines up genetically with the “Eurasian lineage” of high-path H5N1 that’s been circulating in poultry and wild birds in Europe and Asia this year, the OIE said in its report Wednesday.

But since the birds in this case aren’t commercial poultry, the OIE said, its Terrestrial Animal Health Code says OIE member countries “should not impose bans on the international trade of poultry commodities in response to notification of infection with any influenza A viruses in birds other than poultry.”

For that reason — and because no other cases of bird illness resembling avian influenza (AI) have been reported in the vicinity of the farm — Canada’s AI-free status “remains in place in accordance with (OIE) guidance,” CFIA said.

Avian flu, CFIA said, “circulates naturally in avian fauna and recent detections of high-pathogenic AI in Europe indicate an even higher risk of the disease in North American poultry flocks this year.

“This makes it more important than ever for anyone raising poultry to remain vigilant against AI and ensure they have effective biosecurity measures in place.”

Meanwhile, provincial and federal officials and the birds’ owner “are working closely together to manage this particular situation.”

Also, a three-kilometre “protection zone” and 10-km “surveillance zone” are now in place around the infected premises, CFIA said.

According to the agency’s report to the OIE, the farm’s outbreak first became apparent Dec. 8 and was confirmed through tests at Atlantic Veterinary College’s diagnostic services lab on Dec. 16 and Canada’s National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg Dec. 19 and 20. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The ferruginous hawks, which live on nesting platforms in the Milk River area, have been on camera since 2018 and viewers have seen some cool things, such as parents feeding the young and both Mom and Dad incubating eggs.

“We’re kind of getting a glimpse into the life of a ferruginous hawk,” said Adam Moltzahn, a biologist with the Alberta Conservation Association.

“Like the peregrine falcon, the ferruginous hawk is also considered a species at risk. And the idea behind the camera is to educate people and give them a little bit of insight into the ferruginous hawk.”

The project is based on the association’s peregrine falcon webcam in Edmonton. But since there’s no high-speed internet in hawk country to allow livestreaming, it uses trail cameras that capture photos at regular intervals and transmit them via cellular networks.

“Since these ferruginous hawks’ nests are in fairly remote locations in southern Alberta, cell service can be a limiting factor,” said Moltzahn.

Images from a trio of nests can be found at ab-conservation.com. New images are posted on Fridays (and promoted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with #FerruginousFriday hashtag).

“What’s really neat about the camera project is that we are able to get photos and insights about what the species does on the landscape,” he said.

“We get to see what kind of prey the adult birds bring into the nest. We get to see how many eggs each pair lays, and how many young will make it to what is called ‘the fledgling stage’ where they are able to fly off the nest in early August.”

The birds, the largest North American hawk in both size and weight, are also valuable friends to farmers as they feed mostly on Richardson’s ground squirrels, which are generally (but inaccurately) called gophers. A pair can eat 500 of the tunnel-digging rodents in a season.

“They can be used as a form of natural pest control,” said Moltzahn. “They have a very important role in controlling those local pests or local rodents that may exist on a farming operation.”

The Alberta government does a ferruginous hawk population estimate every five years, with teams of trained observers going out in spring to record active nesting sites. In 2015, it was estimated there were 865 breeding pairs, a slight increase from the inventory in 2010.

However, the number of nesting pairs dropped significantly between 1992 and 2000 with habitat loss, degradation of native grassland, and human disturbance at nesting sites all having an impact.

“Hawks are a little sensitive, especially during egg-laying season,” said Moltzahn. “They don’t really like being approached by people or equipment.”

Fluctuations in the numbers of Richardson’s ground squirrels also play a role.

“Some years, ground squirrel populations go up and you might have a lot of ferruginous hawks, and in other years, they go down, and you might not have as many.”

The hawks also have trouble finding proper nesting sites. They were originally ground nesters, but now they nest in trees, and other vertical structures.

“One of the things that my organization and several other non-profits are engaged with is setting up hawk platforms to provide another nesting structure for hawks to nest on, on the Prairies,” he said.

AltaLink, Equs and Fortis Alberta all contribute to this effort but landowners can also help out by keeping tall trees on their land and “if a nest tree falls over, an artificial nesting platform can be installed to replace that old nesting structure,” he said.

Maintaining grassland habitat is also key.

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A separate influenza strain, H1N1, that emerged from pigs and spread rapidly worldwide among humans led the WHO to declare an influenza pandemic in 2009-10. The outbreak turned out to be mild among humans.

Russia registered the first case of a strain of bird flu virus named influenza A (H5N8) being passed to humans from birds and has reported the matter to the WHO, Anna Popova, head of consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said on Saturday.

Seven people in Russia were found to be infected with H5N8, but all were asymptomatic following an outbreak on a poultry farm in the southern oblast (region) of Astrakhan, a WHO statement said. The death of 101,000 of the farm’s 900,000 egg-laying hens in December had sparked the investigation, it said.

“All close contacts of these cases were clinically monitored, and no one showed signs of clinical illness,” it said. “Based on currently available information, the risk of human-to-human transmission remains low.”

The WHO advised against any special traveller screening at points of entry or restrictions on travel and or trade with the Russian Federation, it added.

Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain were reported last year in poultry or wild birds in Britain, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Russia, according to WHO.

The WHO statement said that developing zoonotic influenza candidate vaccine viruses for potential use in human vaccines remains an essential part of WHO strategy for influenza pandemic preparedness.

— Stephanie Nebehay reports on international health issues for Reuters from Geneva.

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