There are 10 premises infected with H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in B.C. and one in Saskatchewan. The nation estimates 11,099,000 birds are affected, according to the latest data from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. All B.C. cases are in Chilliwack and Abbotsford.

“I think there’s definitely worry and apprehension in the industry, because in the last two years in a row – and this is the third year – the growers have seen HPAI cases around this time,” said Natalie Veles, executive director of British Columbia Turkey.

Why it matters: Avian flu poses a serious risk to Canada’s poultry supply, and migratory birds that land in the Fraser Valley make B.C. farms particularly vulnerable.

Culprits for the new cases are migratory birds, Veles said. Dr. Theresa Burns, B.C.’s chief veterinary officer, agreed. Waterfowl carry avian influenza viruses north to south and they love to rest in standing water in the Fraser Valley, especially during wet years.

“We get large numbers of waterfowl in the Fraser Valley specifically, and they’re shedding the avian influenza virus into the environment,” Burns said.

This particular strain has been infecting farms in the area for three years. Industry groups and the provincial and federal governments have helped producers prepare for and reduce the risk of avian influenza.

“We’ve seen our poultry industry really step up,” Burns said.

Different orders are in place for infected premises under the Animal Health Act. British Columbia Turkey and other poultry groups in the province are working with the CFIA to ensure infected premises are quarantined and quickly managed.

“We’re also sharing a lot of good information as we go through the outbreak,” Veles said. “The industry is handling it the best we can.”

When HPAI is confirmed in poultry through lab testing, the CFIA designates the affected area as an infected premises and places it under quarantine. It may also establish a primary control zone around an infected premises.

Movement of poultry, related products and equipment is restricted within this 10-kilometre radius. Locations of active primary control zones can be viewed on CFIA’s website.

If a flock is located within an active primary control zone, producers must obtain a permit to transport birds, their products or byproducts. Permits apply to both small and commercial flocks.

“We’ve regulated poultry types – broilers, breeders, layers, turkeys, and also on the non-regulated side, with ducks,” Veles said. “And those are the things that we are really trying to work with the CFIA to understand.”

On poultry farms, biosecurity measures include ensuring birds come only from reputable sources and that any sick birds are promptly isolated from the main flock. Introducing new birds should be done sparingly, and newcomers, as well as those returning from exhibitions, should be isolated before integration. Implementing an all-in, all-out movement for flock management is advisable where feasible, the sector has been told.

Good biosecurity protocols require regular cleaning and disinfection of poultry houses, equipment, clothing and footwear used by handlers. A specific area should be designated for cleaning vehicles and equipment. Dead birds and damaged eggs should be promptly disposed of, and plastic crates should be used for bird transport, protocols indicate.

Such protocols also require restricted access for visitors, and measures to prevent other birds, rodents, pets or wildlife from interacting with the flock. Accurate records of people, animals and equipment moving on and off the premises should be kept.

Veles said she hopes that, in working with producers, the CFIA and other groups, they may discover other risk factors that will allow better control of future outbreaks.

“We need to know what those risk factors are to be able to respond better,” she said.

The CFIA is working with the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Food and industry groups to respond to current infections, a spokesperson for the CFIA wrote in an Oct. 30 email.

Around 145,000 birds have been affected by HPIA at the six premises in B.C. All have been humanely killed and disposed of, the CFIA said. Manure, feathers and other material that could spread the disease are disposed of as well, and all premises go through cleaning and disinfection overseen by the CFIA.

“The continued detections of HPAI in both wild and domestic birds in Canada is a strong reminder for anyone raising birds to remain vigilant of HPAI and ensure they have effective biosecurity measures in place,” the spokesperson wrote.

If this year follows the same pattern as the previous two, Burns is hopeful that cases of HPAI will drop off in December.

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The Arkansas-based meatpacker reported second-quarter sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates, though profits surpassed expectations.

Third-quarter results could be weaker than the fourth quarter due to performance in Tyson’s pork and prepared foods divisions, CEO Donnie King said on a conference call. Shares fell 7.9 per cent after tumbling earlier by more than nine per cent.

“Historically, FQ3 is typically the strongest from a seasonal perspective,” said Arun Sundaram, analyst with CFRA Research.”The outlook was viewed as a disappointment.”

High commodity costs could weigh on third-quarter results in prepared foods, said Melanie Boulden, the unit’s president. She added that inflation is pressuring consumers, particularly those from lower-income households, at retail stores and food-service outlets.

“Uncertainties remain around consumer strength and behaviour,” Chief Financial Officer John R. Tyson said.

He later sought to calm investor concerns over the third quarter outlook as shares sank, saying executives “don’t want anyone to over-read into that.”

Tyson has shuttered six U.S. chicken plants since the start of 2023, eliminated corporate employees and announced plans to close a pork plant, in an attempt to boost results and rein in costs.

Improvement in the chicken business on Monday prompted Tyson to lift its estimate for total adjusted operating income in fiscal year 2024 to $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion from $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

The increased forecast and quarterly earnings were not overly surprising, Citi Research analyst Thomas Palmer said.

Adjusted second-quarter earnings were 62 cents per share, above analysts’ expectations for 39 cents, based on LSEG data.

Tyson has worked to turn around its chicken business for years but struggled with excess supply in 2023. Adjusted operating margins were 3.9 per cent in the latest quarter, compared to negative 3.7 per cent a year earlier, as feed costs fell.

Tyson raised the chicken unit’s income outlook in the first such increase after the second quarter in seven years, JP Morgan said in a note.

Quarterly sales slid 8.3 per cent while volumes dropped 6.1 per cent, largely due to reduced U.S. production, according to Tyson. Producers are grappling with elevated chicken deaths and disease, King said.

“We’re not where we need to be yet in our chicken business,” he said.

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The ban, which aims to protect the health of the Philippines’ poultry population, covers imports of domesticated and wild birds, including poultry meat and eggs, the ministry said in a statement.

All shipments coming from California and Ohio that are already in transit, loaded, or accepted at Philippine ports before Jan. 15 will be allowed entry if they were slaughtered two weeks before the outbreak began, it added.

In 2023, the Philippines imported 166,356 tonnes of poultry products worth $175.8 million from the United States, which is the second-largest supplier to the Southeast Asian nation accounting for 40% of arrivals, government data showed.

Earlier this month, the Philippines halted imports of poultry products from Belgium and France, also because of a bird flu outbreak.

Bird flu is carried by migrating wild birds and can then be transmitted between farms. It has ravaged flocks around the world in recent years, disrupting supply and pushing up food prices.

–Reporting for Reuters by Neil Jerome Morales.

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In a recent study, my colleagues and I showcased the potential of gene editing to protect chickens from the threat of avian influenza.

This disease is caused by an ever-evolving virus that gets around numerous biosecurity measures such as good hygiene, restricted bird movements, surveillance through appropriate testing or selective elimination of infected birds.

A gene editing breakthrough would stem the huge economic losses currently suffered as a result of bird flu outbreaks. It would also be a significant step in controlling a disease that, although rarely, has caused serious sickness and death in humans.

Outbreaks of bird flu around the world cost billions of dollars in losses. The United States Department of Agriculture reported that up to 50 million birds died from bird flu in 2022. Recently, the South African Poultry Association said more than seven million chickens were destroyed after outbreaks were detected in the first half of 2023.

Beyond the economic implications, bird flu outbreaks also pose a risk to human health.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, bird flu was considered a possible trigger for a devastating human pandemic. This prompted international surveillance led by the World Organisation for Animal Health, the World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

The fear is well-founded as the three flu pandemics of the 20th century – including the 1918 flu pandemic that claimed tens of millions of lives – originated from birds, as did the outbreak of concern in Hong Kong in the late 1990s.

Vaccination is a primary method for preventing bird flu outbreaks in chickens. However, the effectiveness of vaccines is limited because the bird flu virus rapidly evolves. This makes existing vaccines less effective over time.

Also, there are multiple strains of the bird flu virus, but a vaccine is effective against only one specific strain. It’s necessary to match a vaccine with the prevailing strain causing an outbreak. Using vaccines may also involve substantial costs and practical hurdles of distribution.

In contrast, gene editing could target a protein or proteins within chickens that are vital for all strains of bird flu, effectively stopping the virus in its tracks.

Gene editing refers to the process of making a precise change in a specific gene in an animal to introduce traits such as resistance to a particular disease, increased productivity or characteristics that enhance animal welfare.

It’s important not to confuse gene editing with genetic modification, which entails transferring a gene from one species to another. This distinction is necessary for regulatory purposes, especially as the older genetic modification technology has faced stringent regulations in many countries, hampering its development.

To produce the gene-edited chickens in our study, we used the powerful molecular scissors known as CRISPR/Cas9 to make a single gene edit. We targeted the ANP32A protein in chickens.

Compared to normal chickens hatched simultaneously, these gene-edited chickens reached maturity without any discernible adverse consequences on their health and wellbeing.

To test their resistance, we exposed the gene-edited chickens to a low dose of the bird flu virus. Remarkably, nine out of 10 of these birds displayed complete resistance, and no transmission occurred to other chickens.

Taking a more ambitious step, we inoculated the gene-edited chickens with a high, unnatural dose of the virus – 1,000 times the low dose. This time, five out of the 10 inoculated gene-edited chickens became infected.

We also found that the bird flu virus was capable of adapting to use the edited ANP32A protein, as well as two related proteins – ANP32B and ANP32E. But we demonstrated through experiments in cells that simultaneously editing all three proteins could completely suppress the virus.

Ongoing research aims to identify the specific combination of gene edits needed to create the next generation of gene-edited chickens, providing complete and permanent protection against bird flu.

Gene editing should be regarded as an essential tool for preventing and controlling deadly animal diseases.

Supportive government regulations will be required to promote the development of gene editing aimed at enhancing animal health and welfare.

The potential for disease-resistant animals to protect global food security and public health is a compelling reason to pursue this innovative path in biotechnology.

– Alewo Idoko-Akoh DVM, MSc, PhD is a research associate, School of Biochemistry, at the University of Bristol. This article first appeared in the Conversation, by Reuters.

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Highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as bird flu, has spread to new corners of the globe since 2022, wiping out millions of poultry birds and send- ing egg and turkey prices soaring. 

Experts warn that mutations could potentially threaten a human pandemic, though the current strain has not caused significant disease in people. 

Researchers said they used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to make specific changes to a gene called ANP32 that is essential to support flu viruses inside chickens’ cells. CRISPR is a type of molecular “scissor” technology that scientists can use to edit DNA. 

Flu viruses hijack proteins like ANP32 inside cells to help themselves replicate, and the edits in chickens were designed to stop the growth of bird flu. 

Upticks in cases tend to occur during the spring and autumn migration of wild birds that transmit the virus, and the U.S. last week reported its first case since April in a commercial flock. 

Experiments showed that almost all the gene-edited chickens showed resistance to lower doses of a less lethal form of bird flu than the H5N1 strain that has circulated the globe recently, said Wendy Barclay, a flu expert and professor at the Imperial College of London. 

When birds were exposed to much higher levels of the virus, though, about half of the gene- edited chickens had breakthrough infections, she said. 

“We can move toward making chickens resistant to the virus but we’re not there yet. We would need more edits – more robust edits – to really shut down the virus replication.” 

Researchers now think that making three specific genetic changes to chickens’ cells will better protect birds. However, they have not bred chickens with three edits yet, said Helen Sang, who previously studied genetically modifying chickens against bird flu at the University of Edinburgh. 

Sang said scientists found that genetic modification would not work well enough. 

Unlike genetic modification, which introduces foreign genes, gene editing alters existing genes. 

The technology is considered to be less controversial than genetic modification and is more lightly regulated in some countries. 

“The way forwards here is not to rely on single edits but to use a combination of them,” Barclay said. 

France last month became the first country in the European Union to vaccinate poultry against the virus. 

However, that strategy led the U.S. to impose trade restrictions on French poultry imports, citing a risk of introducing the virus into the country because vaccinated birds may not show signs of infection.

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In a survey of more than 1,000 Canadians, 72 per cent of respondents said Canada’s code of practice should ban caged confinement of laying hens.

The survey, released this summer, comes from Bryant Research, a U.K. firm that “uses social science research to help accelerate the protein transition from conventional meat to alternative proteins,” its website says.

The firm spoke with consumers representing regions across Canada, 97 per cent of whom said they ate eggs. After showing them photos and descriptions of various laying hen housing systems, it asked if they found them acceptable.

Eighty per cent said conventional cages were unacceptable, and 75 per cent said enriched or colony cages were unacceptable.

“Given the widespread support for ending cage confinement, many Canadians may be shocked to learn that most major grocery stores still source the majority of their eggs from cage systems,” said animal advocacy group Mercy for Animals in a news release regarding the poll.

“Deadlines for many companies to meet public promises to be 100 per cent cage-free are only two years away,” the group added.

Many large Canadian retailers and restaurant chains have pledged to switch to cage-free eggs. In 2015, McDonalds Canada announced it would phase out eggs from caged birds by 2025. In 2016, several major grocers such as Loblaw, Sobeys and Walmart Canada promised to do the same.

However, some of those companies — while not walking back their commitment — have acknowledged it won’t be possible as soon as promised.

“We’ve learned that the supply chain needs more time to adapt and change,” Sobeys said in its 2022 animal welfare statement.

In its 2022 environmental social governance report, Loblaw said it had made progress toward the goal.

“However, in 2021 it became evident that our farmer partners would not be able to meet the 2025 timeline,” it said. “[We] reaffirmed our commitment to the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) and their efforts to generate consensus around egg systems moving forward.”

The most current guidelines from the council, which develops codes of practices for farm animal care, require conventional battery cages to be phased out by 2036 in favour of enriched or colony housing — larger cages with amenities like perches and nesting boxes.

Industry data shows the percentage of laying hens housed in conventional cages has been in steady decline, falling to 51 per cent in 2022 from 82 per cent in 2016. In 2022, nearly 32 per cent of hens lived in enriched colony housing.

In that time frame, demand for cage-free eggs has grown, but not to anywhere near the majority.

By 2022 the number of hens in uncaged housing like free range, free run or organic systems rose to about 17 per cent from 10 per cent in 2016.

In Manitoba, about 15 per cent of egg quota was devoted to cage-free housing systems in 2022. This was enough to cover demand for free-run, free-range and organic eggs in the province, a spokesperson for Manitoba Egg Farmers told the Manitoba Co-operator.

“As the market demand for cage-free eggs increases, farmers will ensure there is enough eggs from cage-free housing systems to supply the market,” the spokesperson added.

However, Bryant’s research indicates many Canadians don’t know how their eggs are produced.

When asked “what percentage of egg-laying hens do you think are still housed in cages in Canada,” 43 said they thought half to three-quarters were housed in cages, and 33 per cent said one quarter to half of hens were housed in cages. Thirteen per cent thought zero to one quarter lived in cages.

When shown pictures of conventional cages, nearly 70 per cent of respondents said conditions were worse than expected.

Of those surveyed, 83 per cent said they were more likely to buy cage-free eggs after seeing the images in the survey. Only 63 per cent said they’d be willing to buy cage-free eggs if they cost more, while 25 per cent were unsure and 11 per cent said they would not.

California’s Proposition 12, recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, banned caged housing for laying hens as of 2022. It also banned the sale in California of eggs from hens housed in ways that do not comply with the state’s rules.

In June 2021, the European Commission said it would propose legislation in 2023 to phase out “caged farming” for most animals, Reuters reported. Battery cages are already outlawed, but as of 2019, about half of laying hens were kept in larger, “furnished” cages, Reuters added.

Animal welfare group representatives would have preferred the NFACC do the same, said Kathy Duncan, director of national programs at Humane Canada. Humane Canada representatives often take part in NFACC revisions.

However, enriched housing is an improvement over conventional housing, said Duncan. Typically, conversations around code revisions require compromises — for example, what the industry thinks it can manage in the required timeframe.

“We thought that [enriched housing] should be framed as a transitional form of housing on the way to cage-free rather than a stopping place,” Duncan added.

– This article was originally published at the Manitoba Co-operator.

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However, no decision to vaccinate has yet been made, Rosemary Sifford, who is also deputy administrator of the veterinary services program at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), told Reuters at the general session of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) in Paris.

The conference has been focusing on highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu.

The severity of the current outbreak of bird flu has led some governments to reconsider vaccinating poultry, but others such as the United States have been remain reluctant, citing trade curbs this would entail.

“Any vaccination strategy would need to be a very focused strategy… I would certainly not expect to do a widespread vaccination if we were to choose that path,” Sifford said.

“We would be looking at a very specific targeted potentially geographic- and species-oriented that maybe focus on certain turkeys in a certain area. These are the country scenarios that we have been talking through,” she added.

Regionalization and compartmentalization per farms or species are allowed under WOAH rules and often reduce the risk of having country-wide trade barriers.

Turkey meat is expected to account for about 10 per cent of total U.S. poultry production in 2023 and exports are expected to account for about seven per cent of total turkey production, USDA data showed. In contrast, exports of chicken meat are estimated at about 16 per cent.

Sifford sees “no positive impact” in vaccinating chickens since they have a short lifespan.

“For us, turkeys have been the species most affected in terms of facilities,” she said.

The National Turkey Federation, which represents U.S. farmers and processors, supports the development of a vaccine, its president said.

USDA said in November that more than 70 per cent of commercial poultry farms affected in the 2022 outbreak were turkey farms.

USDA told Reuters on Friday that it continued to research vaccine options against bird flu to “protect poultry from this persistent threat” but still considers biosecurity measures to be the most effective tool for mitigating the virus.

— Sybille de La Hamaide is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Paris; additional reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago.

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Unlike previous strains, H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza has spread across the country, raising fears that it could become endemic in wild birds, no less. A nightmare.

This year alone, avian flu has infected approximately 200 farms with more than 3.6 million birds across Canada. That’s a lot of inventory that never reached the consumer market.

Retail prices have been heavily impacted by the flu for months.

In the United States, for example, eggs prices are up by more than 40 per cent since last year, a record. In Canada, where supply management and the quota system typically stabilize the balance between supply and demand, the scenario is not much better. Eggs in Canada have increased by about 20 per cent in some regions, the largest annual increase in 50 years.

[RELATED] Manitoba Co-operator: Avian flu outbreak wipes out 50.54 million U.S. birds

For meat, it’s the same thing; for chicken and our holiday turkey, the price increase may startle some. Chicken is up 17 per cent on average in Canada. For turkey, the increase exceeds 20 per cent in certain regions, especially where avian flu affects many farms.

It’s a safe bet that your eggs, your chicken, and even your holiday turkey will be more expensive this holiday season. Moreover, if you plan to host a dinner with a turkey, it’s better to buy it now.

Avian flu has also reached other continents, including Europe and Asia. The current strain is highly pathogenic and can spread at an unmanageable rate. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency recently said it believes migratory birds are responsible for the spread of disease in Canada. If the flu is transmitted through wild birds, almost no poultry operation will be immune and risk management will be virtually impossible. And more city dwellers have backyard chickens now, which can only increase risks.

But unlike 20 years ago, coordination between the federal agency, provinces and the producers themselves is much better. Stakeholders learned from their past mistakes and got informed about this flu. Otherwise, the current outbreak would have been worse.

The 2004 carnage in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is a good example.

A total of 42 commercial farms and 11 poultry houses were affected 18 years ago, prompting federal authorities to order the mass culling of around 17 million birds. It was a disaster.

This year, despite a more virulent strain, 275,700 birds have been infected with avian flu in the province so far. Not so bad, but still, that’s almost $20 million worth of chickens removed because of the flu.

[RELATED] Alberta bears brunt of avian influenza outbreak

The illness has been threatening the industry for months and the pressure for some growers has become unbearable. There is no remedy, no vaccine for birds, though researchers are now mobilizing to possibly develop a vaccine.

The risk of seeing this epizootic virus turn into a zoonosis, a human epidemic, is still real.

No human cases of avian influenza have been detected in Canada. There have been some elsewhere, but not in Canada. Let’s hope that doesn’t change. It should also be noted that avian flu poses no food safety risk to consumers.

To help, we can do our part.

In 2019, before there were border restrictions for poultry and eggs, about a quarter (24 per cent) of Canadians took a day trip by car to the United States, according to our data at the Lab.

Among this group, one in 10 (11 per cent) report bringing eggs or raw poultry to Canada. Huge. It is now illegal to bring poultry and eggs from the United States, do don’t be tempted to do this. These products represent a risk for our producers. Buy your turkey and eggs here, with peace of mind.

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International Layer Distribution (ILD), a subsidiary of German egg layer breeding firm EW Group, and Trouw Nutrition Canada, a livestock feed arm of Nutreco, on Monday announced their joint venture has acquired Clark’s Poultry for an undisclosed sum.

Clark’s, founded by Doug Clark in 1947 and sold to the Brandon-based Lawson family in 1970, sells layer chicks in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta under the Lohmann Breeders brand.

“After 44 years in the industry, the time has come for me to move on and let the current management and sales team, along with the new ownership group, take Clark’s Poultry to the next level of excellence in the hatchery industry,” Clark’s president Brad Lawson said in a release.

“We feel the new ownership of the hatchery will allow us not only to invest in the Canadian community and the team we have built, but also to continue improving on our existing chick quality and customer support,” Greg Moorehead, who becomes Clark’s general manager, said in the same release.

Lohmann Breeders, another German-based international firm in the layer parent breeding business, has been part of ILD’s parent firm, EW Group, since 1987, when Lohmann was bought by what was then known as Paul Wesjohann and Co.

Livestock feed firm Trouw Nutrition Canada was formed in 2017 in the merger of the Canadian feed business of Nutreco with those of Shur-Gain, Landmark Feeds and Hi-Pro Feeds.

Maarten Bijl, managing director for Trouw Nutrition North America, and Albert Cordts, ILD’s managing director, jointly said Tuesday that “continuing the high quality, and the excellent service, customers know from Clark’s is very important to us. This acquisition also shows long-term and continued commitment to the Prairie provinces and their producers.” –– Glacier FarmMedia Network

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