Published Date: 2004-02-20 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, H7 serotype, poultry - Canada (BC)
Archive Number: 20040220.0548
AVIAN INFLUENZA, H7 SEROTYPE, POULTRY - CANADA (BRITISH COLUMBIA)
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Date: 19 Feb 2004
From: Mark Collins <isobar1b6@yahoo.co.nz>
Source: Canadian Press [edited]
An outbreak of avian influenza has been discovered in British Columbia,
Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew confirmed Thursday. The outbreak, on an
undisclosed chicken farm on the B.C.'s Lower Mainland, has been caused by an
H7 influenza subtype, which is not the form of avian influenza ravaging
poultry stocks in Asia. "It's isolated at this time. There's no link with
human health at this moment," Pettigrew said.
H7 avian influenza is the form of the virus that was discovered in poultry
flocks in Delaware and live bird markets in New Jersey, USA, last week. The
subtype sweeping through Asia is a high-pathogenicity H5N1 virus. [The
strains in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are not quite the same strain,
although both are considered to be low-pathogenicity. - Mod.TG]
It is not currently known whether the strain in the British Columbia
outbreak is of low or high pathogenicity. High-pathogenicity influenza
viruses kill virtually all chickens they infect.
"If it's low-pathogenicity, this happens quite often in chicken flocks,"
said influenza expert Dr. Danuta Skowronski of the British Columbia Centre
for Disease Control. "The question is, is it the low-pathogenicity [virus]
as in the USA, or could it be a high-pathogenicity [strain] such as was
found in the Netherlands [in 2003]? That information is still pending. But
it's certainly not H5N1, which was my greatest concern."
An Agriculture Canada official said virus samples are currently being
tested, and full subtype information will be available Fri 20 Feb 2004.
--
ProMED-mail
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[As of 19:00 EST (USA East Coast time) Fri 20 Feb 2004 ProMED had not seen
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URL to <promed@promedmail.org>.
Canada has had 3 cases of low pathogenic H5 and H7 viruses since 1975, the
latest of which was reported in 2000 in Ontario (from a Canada Agriculture
press release submitted by Akira Goto, Japan). The H7 serotype is currently
causing outbreaks in the USA & Pakistan, and has been isolated previously in
many countries -- see refs. below. - Mod.JW]
See Also
Avian influenza, poultry - USA (PA) 20040215.0504Avian influenza - USA (DE) (06): OIE 20040214.0488
Avian influenza, poultry - USA (PA, NJ) 20040213.0486
Avian influenza - Eastern Asia (13) 20040128.0335
2003
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Avian influenza - Netherlands (24): pig involvement 20030520.1240
Avian influenza, human - Netherlands (13) 20030501.1092
Avian Influenza, human - Netherlands (09): fatal case 20030419.0959
Avian influenza - Belgium, Netherlands (02) 20030429.1061
Avian influenza - Germany: confirmed, OIE 20030513.11
1997
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Influenza, avian, H7 serotype - Australia (04) 19971220.2517
....................tg/pg/jw
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