The avian flu that swept a broiler breeder chicken operation in southwestern Ontario’s Oxford County has been confirmed as highly pathogenic H5N2.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Sunday its lab tests in Winnipeg have confirmed the virus’ pathogenicity and subtype.
The farm, southwest of Kitchener, was quarantined Saturday after preliminary tests confirmed a sudden increase in death loss in the flock was due to an H5 avian flu strain.
CFIA said Sunday it’s begun investigating premises in the area which will need to be placed under “precautionary quarantine” to limit the virus’ spread.
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The broiler farm is well outside the current 10-km control zone around the Oxford County turkey farm that was confirmed earlier this month with high-path H5N2.
CFIA said Friday that surveillance testing within the control zone around the infected turkey farm, west of Woodstock, had all turned up negative so far. Almost 30 properties were put under precautionary quarantine relating to the turkey farm outbreak.
According to a map posted by the province’s Feather Board Command Centre, a 10-km control zone around the broiler farm would neither meet nor overlap the zone around the turkey farm. –– AGCanada.com Network
