Manitoba_Rancher
Well-known member
Im thinking this is more serious than mad cow...
:???:
Turkeys at B.C. farm contract harmless flu virus from pigs: chief vet
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. (CP) - Turkeys at a medium-sized farm have contracted a harmless flu virus that seems to have spread from infected pigs brought in from the Prairies, B.C.'s chief veterinary officer said Friday.
While stressing the virus doesn't present any public health concerns, Dr. Ron Lewis said it's the first time in Canada that it has crossed from pigs to poultry.
Lewis said the H3 strain of the virus was recently detected in a small number of turkeys during routine blood sampling at one poultry farm.
"It's not a significant disease in terms of human concern, it's really not even a significant disease in terms of the birds that are involved," Lewis said.
The H3 virus is not serious enough to be reportable to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The H3 virus is more common among pigs in the Prairie provinces, where it seems to have emerged in swine imported to Manitoba from the United States, Lewis said.
He said the infected turkeys aren't showing any outward signs of sickness and are fit for human consumption.
Last year, the more serious H5 and H7 strains of the avian flu wreaked economic havoc on Fraser Valley farmers after some 17 million chickens either died or had to be destroyed.
© The Canadian Press, 2005
:???:
Turkeys at B.C. farm contract harmless flu virus from pigs: chief vet
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. (CP) - Turkeys at a medium-sized farm have contracted a harmless flu virus that seems to have spread from infected pigs brought in from the Prairies, B.C.'s chief veterinary officer said Friday.
While stressing the virus doesn't present any public health concerns, Dr. Ron Lewis said it's the first time in Canada that it has crossed from pigs to poultry.
Lewis said the H3 strain of the virus was recently detected in a small number of turkeys during routine blood sampling at one poultry farm.
"It's not a significant disease in terms of human concern, it's really not even a significant disease in terms of the birds that are involved," Lewis said.
The H3 virus is not serious enough to be reportable to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The H3 virus is more common among pigs in the Prairie provinces, where it seems to have emerged in swine imported to Manitoba from the United States, Lewis said.
He said the infected turkeys aren't showing any outward signs of sickness and are fit for human consumption.
Last year, the more serious H5 and H7 strains of the avian flu wreaked economic havoc on Fraser Valley farmers after some 17 million chickens either died or had to be destroyed.
© The Canadian Press, 2005
