The village of Saint-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick, is known as an important centre for raising and selling poultry in Atlantic Canada. The Westco Group houses millions of chickens here. Its CEO, Thomas Soucy, is alarmed by the resurgence of avian flu cases in the country.
Strict enhanced biosecurity measures have been underway since February at Westco Group facilities. For example, workers must change their clothes and boots when moving from one establishment to another. People coming and going on commercial farms are also extremely limited. Thomas Soucy hoped that biosecurity measures would be able to ease a little in the spring. This is not the case, he said. We are constantly reminded that the disease is present it is very, very worrying
One of the starkest reminders in New Brunswick are the hundreds and hundreds of gannet carcasses found on beaches across the province in recent weeks. Rise in bird flu cases Avian flu is spreading rapidly among wild animals in North America. In addition to wild birds, domesticated populations are also threatened. The disease is highly contagious between different species of birds, including poultry, on farms. If contact between wild birds and domestic birds is possible, then there could be infections. The virus has already killed large numbers of birds across Canada, and there have been outbreaks on farms, says Canadian Wildlife Health Network pathologist Megan Jones.
The H5N1 strain of avian flu has indeed been detected in poultry farms in western Canada. Chicken Farmers of Canada communications director Lisa Chop-Spencer says this is the first-time cases of avian flu have been reported in multiple Canadian provinces at the same time. Additionally, many of these infections are linked to wild birds, whereas normally spread was more common through domestic birds, from farm to farm. In total, nearly two million birds from commercial farms have so far been euthanized, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to stop the spread.
In case of outbreak Avian flu is often spread through the secretions and droppings of migrating wild birds. Despite the precautions taken by the Westco Group, tension reigns. And for good reason: the virus can decimate an entire commercial farm in a few days. We are still not immune, launches Thomas Soucy. It’s still very alarming, it can get in through the air. There may be excrement which has dried outside and then turned into dust and then which comes in with the wind, they will come in with the ventilation system. When a case of avian flu is detected on a commercial farm, a protocol is put in place very quickly by the CFIA to stop the spread. Birds in the affected area are euthanized and those in surrounding areas are quarantined.
According to Thomas Soucy, the Westco Group would need a year and a half to rebound if the virus affected the facilities in Saint-François-de-Madawaska. In New Brunswick, only small non-commercial chicken farms have been affected by avian flu so far. Outbreaks on commercial farms would have implications for the supply chain. In addition, the authorities are not overly concerned about the transmission of the virus among humans.