Poultry farmers across the province are on high alert after a highly unusual spike in avian flu cases in the dead of winter that killed 38,000 ducks.
“It makes us fear the worst for next spring,” worries Pierre-Luc Leblanc, president of the Poultry Breeders of Quebec and himself a breeder.
Since January 30, at least 38,000 ducks have been euthanized to prevent the spread of avian flu in eight sites in Montérégie-Ouest, according to the Quebec Poultry Disease Control Team (EQCMA).
The Hudson Valley farms of Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, a big player which markets duck and foie gras, are among the companies affected, the Journal was able to confirm.
“The virus found its way into a building where there were ducks in February. We had never seen that, ”says, incredulous, Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt, professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Montreal.
Especially since Quebec had not experienced a case of avian influenza in domestic poultry before April 2022, underlines Martin Pelletier of EQMA. More than 575,000 animals have been slaughtered since.
- Listen to Richard Martineau’s interview with Pierre-Luc Leblanc, president of the Poultry Breeders of Quebec on QUB radio :
Out of season
Several factors are singled out to explain the presence of H5N1 outside the travel seasons of migratory birds, which are agents of propagation.
The current strain has an incubation period of several days, which promotes the spread of the virus, explains Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt.
“It is also capable of infecting a host of animal species: ducks, geese, but also mink, seals, and even cetaceans, which contaminates the environment. They all contribute to increasing the contamination of the environment”, continues the veterinarian.
Transmission to domestic birds often occurs when people walk through contaminated droppings and then visit a farm.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has also tightened traffic protocols in an area surrounding the affected farms.
danger lurks
Currently, bird flu is gaining ground around the world, forcing the culling of tens of millions of birds.
If the last reported case of avian flu in Quebec dates back to February 9, the danger is far from over for poultry farmers who now fear the return of migratory birds.
But Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt is reassuring about the risks currently posed by avian flu to humans.
“I am more concerned for breeders than for public health. Someone who buys chicken at the IGA will not be able to catch the virus”, specifies the professor.