eggs on flat cartons

Avian influenza in U.S. poultry puts the squeeze on Canadian egg imports

Shipments are costing more and taking longer to get here

A major avian influenza outbreak in the United States is forcing Canada’s layer industry to scramble for imported eggs and pay through the nose for them. As the AI outbreak continues south of the border, Canadian importers must look further afield for processing eggs, increasing delivery times and transportation costs. Manitoba sources most of its

chickens in a barn

Editorial: It’s time to rethink poultry production

The bird flu epidemic has wiped out 12 per cent of U.S. egg-laying capacity in a matter of weeks

The numbers surrounding the bird flu epidemic change each day. But they are staggering. Early this week, the USDA was reporting 197 confirmed outbreaks among poultry flocks with losses of 44.6 million fowl, many of them egg-laying hens. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) predicts the number of birds affected will climb to 50


aerial view of a chicken farm

Wild birds have higher resistance to flu virus

With bird flu ravaging barns in the U.S. and knocking at Canada’s door, 
it might be time to reconsider how poultry are raised

For years, poultry producers have been breeding something in their barns other than birds. Avian influenza. Long present in wild bird populations, the low-pathogen version of the virus has entered barns, remaining there until a series of mutations turned into something else — something deadly. “We have been playing with fire,” said Earl Brown, a

white-feathered turkeys

CFIA blames wild birds for spread of avian influenza

While there are no new cases of bird flu in Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says 
it’s still too early to breathe a sigh of relief

Officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are confident that the cases of avian influenza they’ve responded to in Ontario and British Columbia are the result of contact with wild birds, not farm-to-farm transmission. “From the seasonality of this disease and the characterization of the virus — we cannot be 100 per cent sure that


geese near an urban pond

Hatchery amps up bird deterrence in face of avian influenza

Consumer faith in poultry products appears to be holding in spite of a growing 
number of avian influenza cases on farms in Ontario and the U.S.

Manitoba poultry producers and processors have yet to be stung by the avian influenza sweeping farms south of the border, but that doesn’t mean it’s business as usual. Enhanced biosecurity brings a host of changes and logistical challenges. “We’ve increased our sanitation measures, we have foot baths now at all the entrances to our production

Britain confirms H5N8 in ducks on farm in north

London | Reuters — Bird flu on a duck farm in northern England is the highly contagious H5N8 strain, the same form of the virus already discovered in Germany and the Netherlands, Britain’s farm ministry confirmed on Tuesday. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that the risk to humans was minimal,


New Taiwan bird flu shows animal virus risk to humans

A woman in Taiwan has become the first person in the world with a confirmed case of a new strain of bird flu, adding to a growing body of evidence of the potential threat from animal viruses that mutate to be able to infect people. Scientists from Taiwan said the infection — with a bird

PED is a virus spread by fecal matter, and when a swine herd is infected, 70 to 100 per cent of newborn piglets typically die. FILE PHOTO

Deadly new hog disease has officials on high alert

Deadly new hog disease has officials on high alert Keeping an emerging and devastating swine disease out of Manitoba will require a team effort, says the Manitoba Pork Council’s point man on the issue. That means truckers, gathering yards, and farmers need to work together to keep Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) out of the province,


Mystery of Chinese bird flu outbreak grows

Health officials are trying to find out how a new strain of bird flu is infecting people in China — more than half of patients have had no contact with poultry. By late last week, 87 people, mostly in eastern China, have contracted the H7N9 virus, and 17 had died. It is not clear how

mexico city / reuters / The lion’s share of Mexico’s beef exports to Russia will not be blocked by that country’s ban on meat containing traces of the feed additive ractopamine. Russia had warned it would only import beef from five of the 25 processing plants from which it had previously bought. However, those five