Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infecting dairy cattle in the U.S. was a surprise nobody was anticipating, though it did have some lessons for Canada, says Canadian Food Inspection Agency deputy chief veterinary officer Cathy Furness.
She was part of a panel discussion at the Animal Health Canada Forum in Ottawa Sept. 25, where panelists relayed their experiences preparing for H5N1 infections in dairy cattle and how those lessons could be applied to foot and mouth disease (FMD) preparedness in the future.
WHY IT MATTERS: Preventing zoonotic disease like HPAI or foot and mouth disease from getting a Canadian foodhold is a major focus of animal agriculture, government and veterinarians.
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HPAI has still not reached dairy cattle in Canada, but governments and industry groups want to be prepared if it does. Furness said much of the information coming out of the United States was unreliable, meaning the CFIA had to come up with a “nimble” plan.
She said one of the most important aspects of that plan is communication with familiar, trusted sources.
“I think the one benefit of starting from scratch and then building from the ground up (is) we can bring everybody along together in that awareness journey, in that planning journey,” Furness said.
She said this required “a lot of communication, a lot of patience and a lot of asking questions.”
“At the end of the day, our relationships are strengthened. We have that kind of bonding trust, and we have an ongoing communication that will enable us to work through these together.”
Joining forces against disease
Cheryl Schroeder, senior advisor of animal health at Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC), said establishing contact with stakeholders quickly and forming groups with people who already knew one another helped create a space where everyone could stay up to date and speak freely.
Similarly, Furness said having Animal Health Canada as a facilitator made communication easier.
“For me, that actually took a lot of weight off my mind, because I wasn’t having to say, okay, now, Cathy, you gotta make sure you call DFC, CCA (Canadian Cattle Association). I didn’t have to run through all that because (AHC) took care of it for me.”
The panelists explained how these lessons in collaboration and unity could be applied to future biosecurity endeavours like FMD management.
“I think communication is going to be our foundation of a successful response,” said Furness.
“We’re communicating really positively between government, provinces and territories and industry associations, but now I think we need to really focus on how do we get to our boots on the ground, our private practitioners, our producers, our service providers?”
Andrea Genereaux, director of sustainability and consumer expectations with the Dairy Processors Association of Canada, said prior familiarity with threats like HPAI helps to inform rational decision-making.
“We haven’t had to deal with it, right? And so, foot and mouth disease, it’s the same thing. We know it’s a disease, but it’s new to us. And when something is new, it’s really scary.”
“It’s a lot easier to communicate with people when you’re not in crisis mode and when they’re not having kind of knee-jerk reactions.”
This involves identifying producers’ top concerns and finding as many answers as possible.
She added getting regular, weekly updates from AHC has always been helpful.
Lessons from the U.S.
California Department of Food and Agriculture veterinarian Natalie Ward joined the panel virtually to speak about her experience dealing with HPAI in dairy cattle in California. She said preparation for the disease was initially difficult.
“Dairymen were pretty dismissive about this disease,” Ward said. “Originally, the information coming out of Texas wasn’t complete. Even in other states, we struggled to get pretty good information about what worked and what didn’t.”
Something she said helped was creating a division of responsibilities between the federal and state level.
“What really matters is that (the USDA) were able to take care of the avian side and the state was able to focus on the dairy side.”
In the end, Ward said most dairymen in the state came out with a favourable experience, “with a few notable exceptions.”
Furness said one of the most important steps going forward will be empowering producers and other key stakeholders to take the first steps in communication.
“They need to know how to reach in to either provincial or federal governments,” she said. “They have to understand that it’s coming from a place where we want to help. It’s not punitive.”
