CHILLIWACK – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (ECIA) has implemented bird travel control measures around two commercial poultry farms affected by the first hatching of Newcastle in Canada for over 50 years.
The establishment of primary control zones in the Fraser Valley means that birds, by-products and items that have been in contact with birds cannot be moved inside or through these areas without authorization.
The virus affects wild and domestic birds and can cause conjunctivitis in humans. The birds of infected farms must therefore be slaughtered, said the ACIA.
Before the detection of the disease in British Columbia this month, especially in a commercial exploitation of pigeons, the latest infections in Canada dates back to 1973, according to the agency.
The ECIA stressed that this disease is a source of great concern for the global agricultural community because it is very contagious and threatens poultry.
Newcastle’s disease can reduce egg production in domestic birds and cause a high number of outsourced deaths within a farm, while wild birds can develop wings paralysis and become unable to fly, the agency said.
The risk for humans is low if we wear gloves when handling infected birds, and the disease was rarely fatal for wild birds before 1990.
