26


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • DECEMBER 2016


Complacency a big risk in the fight against AI BC protocols praised but international experience shows that growers can't rest easy


by PETER MITHAM


ABBOTSFORD – With more than a decade of biosecurity experience behind them since the cataclysmic avian influenza outbreak of 2004 that saw more than 17 million birds killed throughout the Fraser Valley, BC poultry producers have never been more prepared for an outbreak than they are today. The big question is, will it be enough?


The limited outbreak of 2014 tested industry defences, but panelists convened to discuss biosecurity at a recent industry workshop in Abbotsford highlighted shortcomings on the ground. Auditors for the four key poultry sectors – eggs, broilers, hatching eggs and


turkeys – pinpointed a number of areas where producers are becoming complacent.


Demarcation and barriers at the threshold of biosecure zones are often missing or inadequate, for example, and control


zones are not well-


maintained – not just for humans, but for rodents. Susan


Mallory, who audits turkey producers, said 43% of


The troubles began with detection,


with the initial producer missing any sign of infection. By the time the test results identified the H5N2 strain as the cause, 90% of the flock was dead.


the cards she issues are for infractions of the


requirements for biosecurity zones.


Broiler-breeder producer Sharmain Bennie of Willowgrove Poultry in Chilliwack said she finds it tough to see biosecurity working and that can lead to complacency, echoing the opinion of others that a good defense fails when there’s no obvious threat.


Dave Martens of Bright Meadow Farms in Abbotsford said that positive attitudes can blind producers to the risks their flocks face.


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Reporting on the 2015 avian influenza outbreak in


producer missing any sign of infection. By the time test results identified the H5N2 strain as the cause, 90% of the flock was dead.


The delay allowed the virus to adapt to the population and become more adept at spreading, until the industry was on the defensive. “We allowed [the risks] to build up with no idea anything bad could ever happen,” Cardona said. “We’d like to tell you we saved a lot of birds in how this was handled, but there’s a lot of kinks to be worked out.” The kinks were costly, with 43 million birds killed by May 30, 2015. Iowa egg producers


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the US Midwest, avian health professor Carol Cardona of the University of Minnesota highlighted the dangers of complacence and weak response protocols.


The troubles began with detection, with the initial


alone lost 30 million hens, contributing to a 120% rise in egg prices locally and a boost of more than 70% in


California. US poultry exports were also hit with 16 markets shut in response to the outbreak.


Cardona


said the Minnesota industry is investing in additional foamers and other


measures to ensure the prompt


depopulation


of infected flocks but better biosecurity protocols are also needed.


“Part of it is preserving biosecurity,” she said. “We know that if we don’t kill them, millions more will be dead.”


Global issue


Unfortunately, global will to eradicate the disease and improve biosecurity is lacking. Tighter biosecurity in China, for example, would destabilize local production, which would have political consequences for the country’s leadership. Authoritarian and grappling with an economic slowdown, it isn’t about to invite further instability.


However, this facilitates the movement of the virus between populations and its adaptation to domestic flocks. The highly pathogenic H5N2 strain that emerged in BC in 2014 is thought to have come from Asia, highlighting the globe-trotting nature of the


virus.


Moreover, the amount of virus needed to infect a population is diminishing, contributing to the volatile and unpredictable risk producers face.


“The threat is changing and it’s becoming greater,” Cardona said. “It’s time to rethink how we do


biosecurity. … Are we really learning the lessons the facts are teaching us?”


Cardona didn’t have an answer, and while she praised the local industry, her counterparts in BC were no more confident of what lies ahead.


Allan Cross, a hatching egg producer and broiler grower in Aldergrove who oversees control efforts as part of the industry’s emergency operations centre, said rapid destruction of flocks is what’s wanted.


“Our new goal is complete destruction within 24 hours after detection,” he said. “If we respond fast enough, we can minimize the exposure time.”


Growers should have 72- hour response plans in place, Cross said, and improve on- farm data collection so they know what’s happening in their flocks. Carbon dioxide suppliers should also be in place and ready to go in the event of an outbreak. Growers are also expected to be able to compost birds on site as of January 1, 2018 to limit the movement of carcasses and potentially infected tissues. “We’ve never been more prepared than we are today,” Cross said. “We’re just not sure what we’re prepared for.”


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