Avian Influenza Outbreak in Quebec: Risks, Precautions, and Updates

2024-01-06 20:09:07

“The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec (MAPAQ) informed us that a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 was detected in a commercial breeding farm near the municipality. […] As the owner of a backyard or small bird farm, you should know that the risk for your birds of contracting the avian influenza virus is currently high,” says the municipality in the east. de Gatineau on its Facebook page.

Contacted by Le Droit, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) had not yet provided information at the time of writing these lines.

On its website, we can see that a perimeter around Saint-André-Avellin is now categorized as an “infected zone”, while a larger territory covering part of the Petite-Nation, from Saint-Sixte to west to near Montebello in the east, is considered a “restriction zone”.

Avian flu is an illness caused by an influenza virus type A that affects birds. According to MAPAQ, it can cause severe symptoms and the death of a significant number of birds on poultry farms. The spread of this virus can have devastating consequences for agricultural businesses, it is specified.

“This disease is a zoonosis, meaning it can be transmitted between animals and humans. However, cases of avian flu in humans are rare. […] All bird species are at risk of being infected. Domestic poultry, such as chickens and turkeys, are more often affected by the disease than other species,” explains the ministry.

Quebec recalls that this type of influenza, in the extremely rare cases where it affects humans, generally affects workers in close contact with infected poultry in closed environments, such as farms, slaughterhouses or live poultry markets. No sustained transmission between people is observed. No cases of transmission of the disease to humans have been noted in Canada. When this happens, symptoms are usually similar to seasonal flu, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

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