Farmers in Central Alberta who are facing an unprecedented epidemic of bird flu need emotional support as well as anything else, says a Red Deer veterinarian.
“Producers are very worried about this,” said Terin Girard, a prairie animal veterinarian who is a member of the Alberta Bird Emergency Management Team.
“It’s scary to go out to your barn every day without knowing if you’ll find (H5N1 flu).”
Prior to this spring, Alberta had never had an outbreak of avian influenza. But as of April 6, bird flu has been found in 17 poultry flocks in Alberta, with clusters near Olds, Ponoka, Camrose and Halkirk.
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Cases of bird flu have been found in six central counties in Alberta
Most of them were found in commercial operations, but four cases were found in herds in the backyard.
Girard was called in to check on the birds that looked sick. “If the chicken is sitting quietly instead of moving,” it could be a sign of infection, she said, as well as signs of diarrhea, a drop in egg-laying or soft-shell egg production. “There will be a sudden rise in mortality.”
Girard knows many of Alberta’s central producers affected: “Some of them were my clients. “I know that (these farmers) go around their barns every day and are proud of producing high-quality food,” which means maintaining the health and cleanliness of the herd, she said.
“Something like this has affected their mental health. He had a great influence. “
All chickens and turkeys in quarantined farms will have to be humanely destroyed.
Affected farmers will receive state compensation for their lost birds at market prices – “but they are not about money,” Girard said. “These are family farms of several generations and it is difficult to see that this is happening with their livelihood.”
David Heink, a farmer in the Lacombe area who chairs Alberta’s chicken producers, said bird flu has never been seen in the province, so he worries about the health of his own chickens.
Poultry do not have resistance to the virus, which kills most of the birds it infects. There is no cure. Experts believe that the latter strain is extremely virulent. In the past, migratory birds that brought the virus to Canada tended to show no symptoms. But this spring, some wild birds are also dying from it, Heink said.
“This is very stressful for these (affected) farmers. We respect their privacy because it’s such a challenging time. “
Although no virus was found on Heink’s farm, he and other poultry farmers are taking additional precautions, such as spraying and disinfecting vehicle tires to prevent the virus from being tracked on the farm. They also change their shoes and clothes before entering barns. Visits to poultry farms are discouraged to limit potential distribution.
Every day, Heink said he was inspecting his 135,000 birds to make sure there was no growing mortality. “We are concerned and very vigilant, taking this very seriously.”
Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have also had some outbreaks of bird flu.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said there was no evidence that poultry or eggs could transmit the virus to humans. In any case, poultry products from the study areas are not allowed to enter the food chain.
Heink said: “It is really important for us that consumers know that Health Canada has assured us that this is a herd health problem, not a food safety issue. He noted that producers across Canada are sending their poultry to Alberta to ensure there is no shortage of chicken or eggs in the supermarket.
Agriculture
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