Awareness: Ontario farms under bird flu quarantine

Canadian Press
Twenty-nine poultry farms in Ontario were under quarantine on Sunday after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency established an avian influenza control zone in the wake of the disease being found on a turkey farm in the province earlier this month.

The agency had said last week that H5 avian influenza was found on a farm in Woodstock, Ont. It had placed the infected premises and eight other farms under a quarantine.

That quarantine was broadened over the weekend as a new control zone — stretching out in a 10 kilometre radius from the infected farm in southwestern Ontario — was established.

Scientists Found Out Cause Of Ebola To Be From Infected Birds

Scientists said yesterday that the cause of the deadly Ebola virus that hit West Africa this year was a 2 year old boy, known as patient zero, who played on a tree near a colony of virus-infested bats in his village in Meliandou, Guinea. He was the first person to die but before he died, he infected other family members, who then spread it to others and the virus eventually spread into other areas in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal, before moving to the US, UK and Spain. 

This Ebola outbreak is by far the largest ever-recorded outbreak and it has killed about 7,800 people by Dec. 17, 2014, according to WHO

Snowy owl 'epidemic' sweeps across Ontario

CBC

Snowy owls have flocked to Ontario in huge, rare numbers for the second consecutive year, creating a boon for bird watching and a bane for airport managers.

Last year marked the largest invasion of snowy owls ever recorded in eastern Ontario, and similar numbers are expected this year.

In southern Ontario, Staff at Windsor International Airport expect to trap, band and release 35 snowy owls this winter. That's about the same amount as last year.

At least a dozen snowy owls showed up in the month of December alone, airport manager Phil Roberts said.

"At the very end of December, we've had four to five [banded] in the course of a couple days and still two to three birds that are loafing around," Roberts said.

Once a bird is trapped, the airport keeps it for 24 hours, bands and measures it, then drives it 50 km away to either to Belle River or Holiday Beach.

Snowy owls typically weigh between 3.5 and 5.5 kilograms – or up to 12 pounds.

Custom Seized 20 Dead Birds From Traveller At Calgary International Airport

Metro
Customs agents seized 20 dead baby birds, 100 chestnuts and six bags of homemade cracked wheat and yogurt found in the suitcase of a traveller from Lebanon at Calgary International Airport last week.

The items were first detected by a dog relied on by the Canada Border Services Agency named Rusty.

Some seeds and fruit were also seized.

“These products have a very high probability of carrying harmful diseases that could potentially cause significant harm to Canada’s agricultural industry,” officials said in a release.

10th outbreaks of avian flu hits BC farm, more than 50,000 birds infected

A 10th outbreak of avian influenza was discovered at an egg-laying farm in Langley on Dec. 14, 2014, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

CTV
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed a 10th outbreak of avian flu has been discovered at an egg-laying farm in Langley, B.C.

More than 53,000 birds at the unidentified farm have been infected, pushing the total number of birds that are either dead or set to be euthanized to 233,800, according to the CFIA.

It marks the first time during the current outbreak that H5N2 has been found at a farm in Metro Vancouver.

The virus had so far been contained to B.C.’s Fraser Valley.

The outbreak was first discovered Dec. 1 at a broiler-breeder farm in Chilliwack before spreading to nine more broiler-breeder and turkey farms in Abbotsford.

It is unclear where the virus originated but officials believe it's possible that migrating birds may be to blame for its rapid spread.