USDA lifts avian flu-related bans on Ontario poultry

The USDA on August 25 lifted its restrictions on the import of poultry and poultry products from Ontario.
The lifting of the trade bans will be effective immediately, according to an AgWeek report.
The agency had previously placed trade restrictions on Ontario poultry after avian influenza had been detected in an Ontario turkey farm in April. The Canadian province had three confirmed cases of avian influenza – all of which were in Oxford County.
All three properties have been depopulated and disinfected. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on July 29 deemed the area free of avian influenza and lifted all avian influenza-related control zones.
The lifting of trade restrictions on Ontario poultry follows a decision made earlier in August  by CFIA to lift restrictions on poultry and poultry products from the U.S. states of Arkansas and Montana. Since that time, CFIA has also lifted restrictions on poultry from Indiana.
Canada has not had a confirmed case of avian influenza since April, while the U.S. has not had a confirmed case since June. However, USDA officials are preparing for a potential return of the virus in the fall. More than 48 million birds in the United States were affected by avian influenza, while Ontario had an estimated 79,700 birds affected.

Canadian avian influenza outbreaks prompt Asian trade bans

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  Andrea Gantz

  Several Asian markets have banned Canadian poultry and poultry products after avian influenza was found on two Canadian farms.

  From WATTAgNet:
  The discovery of avian influenza in British Columbia has prompted several Asian markets to impose bans on the import of Canadian poultry products.
  According to reports, South Korea has banned imports of Canadian chicks, while Japan and Taiwan have put trade restrictions on chicken and poultry products from Canada. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has placed bans on poultry, meat and eggs from part of British Columbia.
  The trade restrictions come on the heels of the announcement that two farms in British Columbia had confirmed outbreaks of avian influenza.
  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported a turkey farm in Abbotsford and a broiler breeding facility in Chilliwack both had outbreaks of avian influenza. The two farms are about eight kilometers away from each other.
  Preliminary tests show the virus found is of the H5 variety, according to Dr. Harpreet Kochhar, chief veterinary officer with the CFIA, but the exact serotype is not yet known. The source of the outbreaks has yet to be identified.
  Of the nearly 11,000 turkeys at the Abbotsford operation, about half have died. The farm in Chilliwack is the home of about 7,000 birds, with an estimated 1,000 having died. Culling efforts had been planned for the remaining susceptible birds at both properties, and quarantines have been established.

Nine poultry farms added to quarantine in Fraser Valley

Thirty-six poultry production operations across the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada, are now under quarantine after inspectors sealed off nine more operations to try to contain an avian flu outbreak in the region.
The disease has been confirmed on only one farm so far although testing and monitoring continue. On Sunday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency quarantined the nine new farms because they received products or equipment from the affected facility. Seven of the newly quarantined farms are outside the three-kilometer restricted zone established as soon as avian flu was suspected at the first farm.
About 60,000 turkeys on the E & H Farms property in Abbotsford were destroyed last week after testing confirmed an H5 strain of the avian influenza virus had infected birds in one of two operations on the site.