Farmers Forum staff
OTTAWA — A bird virus new to Canada has struck two Southwestern Ontario turkey farms.
The virus (known as avian metapneumovirus) first turned up on a Huron County farm in March. A second outbreak occurred at a Wellington County farm almost two weeks later in April. The virus caused an acute respiratory tract infection known as turkey rhinotracheitis.
Tests carried out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed on May 7 that the outbreaks were a result of avian metapneumovirus, subtype B — and not avian influenza.
The first outbreak started on March 26 and killed 87 out of 15,000 turkeys at a farm in Huron-Kinloss Township. The second started on April 7 and killed 166 out of 5,150 turkeys at a Centre Wellington Township farm.
Subtypes A and B of the metapneumovirus have infected poultry south of the border in recent months. According to the Ontario Animal Health Network, the virus has caused significant economic losses affecting U.S. broiler, broiler-breeders, layers and cage-free organic birds and turkeys.
This first appearance of the disease in Canada was reported online in May by the Ontario Animal Health Network and the World Organisation for Animal Health. The CFIA reported the outbreaks to the international body on May 13.
Avian metapneumovirus can’t spread to humans. It’s considered exotic to Canada and is classed as an “immediately notifiable disease,” a different category from the “reportable disease” status of avian influenza. There are no control or eradication programs for an immediately notifiable disease, according to the CFIA, and as result, outbreaks do not trigger the flock-culling and control-zone measures otherwise imposed in cases of avian flu. “The primary impact of an immediately notifiable disease is that it will impact our ability to certify a herd or flock of origin as being free from these diseases in order to meet import requirements of our trading partners,” the agency explained in a statement.
“In contrast, reportable diseases such as avian influenza … bovine tuberculosis, scrapie, among others, are diseases that can impact human health, animal health, and the Canadian economy; and for which control and eradication programs do exist in Canada, in most cases.”
