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Provincial officials and poultry producers are hopeful the worst of a deadly wave of avian flu that swept through the province has now passed.
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Dr. Margo Pybus, wildlife disease specialist with Alberta Fish and Wildlife, said it appears the virus has made its way through Alberta after bird mortality peaked in May. She said the majority of the virus came to the province through migratory birds, who appear to have continued farther north.
“Toward the end of May we were getting fewer reports of dead birds. Dead birds that are being found tend to be older carcasses, so they died more in the middle of May,” said Pybus. “We really don’t suspect that we have much in the way of the influenza virus still in Alberta at this point.”
The highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus spread throughout Alberta in April and into the early days of May, ravaging household and commercial poultry farms. The disease is believed to have come into the province through wild birds and then spread throughout both wild and domestic animal populations. Earlier this month, reports found that nearly a million farm birds had to be destroyed because of it.
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“The form of the virus that came in with the wild birds this spring that came north is actually killing some wild birds, and we’ve never seen that before,” said Pybus. “The primary mortality was in geese, snow geese in particular. But then we’ve seen a secondary spillover of the virus into things that ate those also came down with the virus and died, and that includes large numbers of hawks and owls.”
Pybus said she does not believe the virus will continue to spread throughout the summer.
Maria Leslie, spokeswoman for Alberta Chicken Producers, said they are optimistic the spread of the virus has passed but are continuing to urge caution among producers.
“I want to encourage people to continue to follow very high standards of biosecurity with any birds that they might have on their farms,” said Leslie. “As we get closer to mid-summer and also when the weather warms up — because influenza is conducive to living in a cooler, damp environment — we’re hopeful that we’ll continue to see fewer cases.”
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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s website shows the last confirmed case of avian influenza was detected June 2 in small-flock, non-poultry birds, meaning the animal is in a home and is not intended to be consumed. The latest case within a commercial poultry farm was detected May 11, according to the website.
Twenty active zones of infection remain in the province, including 18 commercial facilities, CFIA’s database shows.
Leslie confirmed Friday that there have not been any new confirmed cases in the past week and that a facility in Mountain View County has gone through the full process of eradicating the disease.
“Heightened biosecurity protocols continue to be followed and . . . we encourage small flock owners to continue to follow heightened biosecurity as well,” said Leslie.
Peak of Avian influenza may have passed through Alberta, officials say - Calgary Herald
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