B.C.’s second case of domestic avian influenza has been confirmed in a small flock in the City of Kelowna, but it is unclear what the government considers to be a small flock.
J.M. Giroux, an Okanagan smallholder farmer and admin to the BC Poultry Group Facebook page said the term “small flock” can be interpreted to mean many things and doesn’t have a set definition.
BC egg considers small lot farms to be farmers with under 399 hens. Under CFIA guidelines, “small flocks” are considered farms with up to 1000 birds.
The provincial government has not yet released their parameters of small and large flocks meaning that the “small flock” that was infected may have consisted of hundreds of birds.
The B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and the CFIA were unavailable for comment on the definition of a “small flock” at the time of this article.
“Numerous field studies have shown that backyard flocks are typically insignificant spreaders of the avian flu,” said Giroux.
“What’s really at risk is large-scale layer farms,” said Giroux.
Amanda Brittain, Director of Communications and Marketing with BC Egg said “the threat is real,” to all birds, and warns farmers and producers with flocks of all sizes to be aware of the severity of the highly pathogenic virus.
Brittain said that domesticated birds, like chickens, have a nearly 100 percent mortality rate when infected, compared to wild birds who can transmit the disease asymptotically.
Giroux said that birds in industrial livestock operations live in close quarters and typically have low genetic diversity because they are from the same parent stock. He explained that because of this, the birds are prime candidates for infections of highly pathogenic viruses, like H5N1.
Giroux alleges that the majority of transmission between large farms is because of the sharing of equipment, truck contamination and workers with contaminated clothing working on multiple farms.
Brittain urges all producers, including those with backyard flocks, to implement bio-security measures and to protect their flocks from potential contamination.
Giroux said that although a recent sample from a bald eagle found in Delta tested positive for the same disease, wild birds are not the primary vector of the disease.
Conversely, Brittain stated, “this is coming from migratory birds.”
She said that it is the government’s position that the spread of the strain of highly pathogenic avian flu is primarily due to feces and nasal secretions from migratory birds.
The government has not yet released data outlining how outbreaks of the virus have spread.
The ministry released an order mandating that “all regulated commercial chicken and turkey operations, as well as commercial duck and geese (both live and egg) producers with 100 or more birds must maintain indoor operations”.
Brittain said that even small-scale producers located on a migratory path of wild birds and those near an outbreak should move their flock indoors.
Giroux said that it is not feasible for backyard producers to move their flock indoors during the outbreak and instead suggests keeping flocks in a clean, low-stress environment with access to diverse foods where they can be “as wild as they can be”.
He emphasized, “forcing your poultry indoors for months can expose them to other sources of disease and infection. For many outside of the control zone, this seems like a simple solution but they are not understanding the impact of poor indoor air quality and the mental stress to birds brought on by confinement.”
Brittain said that if birds cannot be brought inside they should be kept in a covered run and producers should diligently keep their flock away from wild bird feces.
Giroux said that he acknowledges that the highly pathogenic virus can spread quickly and said that when a flock becomes infected the birds are culled to prevent further spread.
Giroux said that he wants to “promote backyard producers and reduce reliance on commercial laying farms”.
He said that this would reduce the impact of illness on our food chain and improve the welfare of layer hens.
According to B.C.’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the CFIA and B.C. poultry producers, enhanced prevention and preparedness, measures are in place and the current outbreaks are being monitored to prevent spread.
Both Brittain and Giroux said that in the past, strains of the avian flu caused a near 100 percent mortality rate among infected birds with disastrous impacts on both commercial and small flock producers.
Capital News has reached out to the Ministry of Agriculture and will update this article if more information becomes available.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
All orders are protected by SSL encryption – the highest industry standard for online security from trusted vendors.
Bizarre Sunlight Loophole Melts Belly Fat Fast! is backed with a 60 Day No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee. If within the first 60 days of receipt you are not satisfied with Wake Up Lean™, you can request a refund by sending an email to the address given inside the product and we will immediately refund your entire purchase price, with no questions asked.
