Canada: No cases of avian influenza in Nova Scotia, but poultry producers are keeping a close eye on farms and flocks

While British Columbia deals with multiple incidents of avian influenza over the past couple of weeks there have been no reports in Nova Scotia and chicken producers here want to keep it that way. There have been 15 investigations of possible or confirmed cases of the since Oct. 21 in B.C., and Chicken Farmers of Nova Scotia board chair Amy VanderHeide said producers here are acutely aware of what’s going on at a time when migration of waterfowl brings increased risk. “There’s always the concern, we know it’s in the wild bird population and we know it seems to be around year-round,” VanderHeide said. “In light of the recent outbreak in B.C. we have sent out reminders to producers to boost their bio-security measures and make sure they keep things as tight as possible in the barns.” She said the other issue is making sure the public is aware of the issue and not encouraging waterfowl –around their property. Waterfowl are the main carriers of the virus and are in the midst of their ...