Quarantines have now been lifted from all eight Abbotsford farms affected by avian influenza in December, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
The CFIA also announced Wednesday that it had removed the “primary control zone” restricting the movement of birds and poultry products in southern British Columbia.
The zone and quarantines were put in place in December after the detection of H5N2 avian influenza on a broiler breeder chicken farm in Chilliwack and a turkey farm in Abbotsford.
The H5N2 virus was of a highly pathogenic nature, meaning it spread easily and had a high mortality rate. The virus was eventually detected on a total of 11 commercial farms and a backyard farm in Aldergrove and resulted in the destruction of more than 245,000 birds. An H5N1 version of avian influenza was detected on a Chilliwack backyard chicken farm in early February.
The first quarantines were lifted in early February. They remain in place on a Langley commercial farm and the two backyard farms, but three more farms – including two in Abbotsford – were given permission last week to resume operations.
“All infected premises have completed the required cleaning and disinfection procedures under CFIA oversight,” the agency said in a statement posted online Wednesday. “Three of these premises are under quarantine for the remainder of their 21-day period to satisfy international requirements.”
The CFIA said international restrictions remain in force on Canadian poultry exports.
While the source of the outbreak has not yet been revealed, the CFIA said: “Wild migratory birds are a known reservoir of the avian influenza virus. There is a significant wild bird population in the Fraser Valley and it is a known flyway for migrating birds.”
Testing of B.C. poultry will continue for 90 days after the last farm is disinfected and cleaned, after which Canada may regain its “avian influenza-free status,” the CFIA said.
The CFIA always stressed that the virus is not a risk to humans so long as poultry products “are properly handled and cooked.”