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H5N2 Spreads To Aldergrove In Fraser Valley
Canada
Recombinomics Commentary
December 6, 2014 23:45
EXCLUSIVE: A fifth farm in the Valley tests positive for Avian Flu. Sources confirm it's a turkey farm on the Aldergrove-Abbotsford border.
The above tweet indicates the fifth farm with H5N2 in Fraser Valley is in Aldergrove (see map). A press conference today indicated the turkey farm was near Abottsford and had two barns with a capacity of 30,000 turkeys each. Each farm had three age groups of turkeys and H5 was confirmed in a group of 10,000 nine-week old turkeys, suggesting the two barns were at or near capacity. These 60,000 turkeys are in addition to the 80,000 birds which are being culled on the first four farms.
The owner of the latest farm noted that birds began dying on Thursday. Friday the matrix gene was PCR confirmed and H5 was confirmed today, indicating H5N2 will be confirmed in Winnepeg. The latest farm is west of Abottsford and more outbreaks are likely.
The possibility of wild or migratory birds was cited, which once again raises the question of lineage. Canada has never reported a high path H5 in wild birds or poultry. In contrast, high path H5 is common in Asia.
Although H5N8 has received attention because of its recent detection in wild birds in Japan, Germany and Netherlands as well as poultry outbreaks in Germany, Netherlands, and England (due to wild birds), Fujian clade 2.3.4 H5N2 has been reported in China in 2014, raising concerns of migration to North America.
Release of sequences from the H5N2 outbreak in Fraser Valley would be useful.
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