A lesser strain of avian flu was discovered at a chicken farm in Saskatchewan last week.
Avian flu also known as bird flu is present in wild birds and the risk to humans is minimal. Poultry that is appropriately handled and cooked also poses no risk. Handling infected birds and their feces does pose risk if proper precautions are not taken.
In Canada last week near Regina, Saskatchewan, an outbreak of avian influenza H7N3 was discovered. About 100 chickens on a chicken farm were found to be affected. However, this is not the same strain of avian flu that has scientists worried about a possible flu pandemic. That strain is known as HPN1.
None the less, approximately 50,000 chickens at this facility were killed and the facility quarantined and cleaned. These birds were not destined for immediate slaughter, nor had they been producing eggs for human consumption.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is handling the incident and updating the public with reports. It says the outbreak may have come from wild waterfowl which normally hosts the disease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a ban on imports of all poultry, poultry products and all wild birds taken by hunters from this region.
This lesser known avian flu may pose no threat to humans, but the government agencies are taking no chances. The fear of a flu pandemic has been fueled by the fact that these avian flus mutate and cause strains such as the HPN1 that has killed humans all over he world in the past few years.
Recently it was discovered that the HPN1 bird flu was actually transmitted from human to human in at least one instance involving several family members who all died from the avian flu.
