CALGARI – When David Heink checks barns every day, he does so with awe.
A Central Alberta chicken farmer is looking for lethargy, loss of appetite or just a general “hangover” in his birds – all of which may be a sign of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain currently circulating in both the wild and wild. in domestic herds in North America.
If the disease appeared on his property, Heink knew it would mean the loss of his entire herd. Avian influenza has a high mortality rate, and those birds in outbreaks that do not die from the disease are euthanized humanely to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Although we didn’t have it on our farm and I hope we don’t, it just seems like it could be anyone,” Heink said. “Maybe we’ll be next, the farm next to us – you just don’t know.”
It is this type of uncertainty that causes high levels of fear and stress on Canadian farms, where, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, poultry and egg producers have lost more than 1.7 million birds to avian influenza since the end of 2021. (The bill includes both birds that died from the virus and birds that were euthanized).
Alberta is the worst affected province with 900,000 dead birds and 23 affected farms. Ontario is the second worst affected with 23 farms affected and 425,000 birds killed.
But now outbreaks of the virus have sprung up in every province except Prince Edward Island. Across the country, farmers are encouraged to keep birds indoors, restrict visitors and strengthen biosecurity measures to help stem the spread. The virus can be spread between birds through direct contact, but it is also easily spread from wild bird droppings and can be transmitted to commercial flocks at the feet of workers or equipment.
While avian influenza was first discovered in Canada in 2004, this year’s strain – which is also wreaking havoc in Europe and Asia – is “unprecedented” in its global impact, according to the CFIA.
The new strain is highly transmitted and appears to be maintained in wild bird populations. Although there is some hope that the number of cases may decrease when the spring migration of birds ends in June, farmers are still wondering where and when the next outbreak will occur.
“You just don’t know and you’re doing the best you can,” Heink said. “I guess you have to have a real acceptance attitude when it comes to dealing with whatever happens.
While farmers who lose flocks of avian influenza are eligible for government compensation, the disease is still causing significant disruption to the industry, said Jean-Michel Lorin, chief executive of the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processing Council. Some manufacturers who have tested negative for the virus on their properties, but who are physically located near the site of the outbreak, have been quarantined and cannot deliver the product.
However, Lorin said consumers are not affected by the shortage, as the Canadian supply chain for eggs and poultry in general is doing well. Part of the reason, he said, is that unlike the United States – where massive industrial stables are much more common, which means that an epidemic on a property can take up a huge amount of supplies – Canadian chicken barns are usually are smaller, family operations.
“We have a more sustainable supply chain in that sense,” Lorin said. “Based on the evidence to date on the impact on consumers, we have been able to withstand the storm.”
This resilience of the supply chain also protected against the kind of shock from stickers in grocery stores that egg and poultry consumers have seen south of the border. In fact, Lorin said that where Canadian consumers have seen an increase in spending on things like chicken and eggs, it has more to do with rising feed prices and headline inflation than bird flu.
However, Lorin said there was a great deal of uncertainty about what was coming. The last major outbreak of bird flu in Canada was in 2014, although it was limited to British Columbia and was not as widespread as the current strain.
“If you ask me if this thing will be endemic in Canada, as it has been in Europe for two years, the answer is that we don’t know,” Lorin said.
Health officials say that while avian influenza can sometimes cause disease in humans, it is rare and would be the result of a close contract with infected birds or a highly polluted environment.
Avian influenza is not transmitted through food, and humans cannot become infected with the virus by eating poultry or eggs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 6, 2022.
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