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Governments of Canada and B.C. invest $300,000 in avian flu surveillance, detection and response measures


December 22, 2015   by Canadian Underwriter


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The governments of Canada and British Columbia announced on Saturday that they are investing $300,000 to strengthen the surveillance, early detection and response measures to avian flu.

The funding will be used to enhance resources at the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture with specialized equipment to diagnose samples collected in the ministry’s avian flu surveillance efforts. Photo: Government of British Columbia

The funding will be used to enhance the resources at the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford with specialized equipment to diagnose samples collected in the ministry’s avian flu surveillance efforts, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

Ministry of Agriculture staff began a pilot surveillance project that collected sediment samples at ponds and wetlands used by wild waterfowl following the December 2014 avian flu outbreak in the Fraser Valley, the statement said. A research group has worked at developing “cutting-edge technological advances to be able to test the samples collected from the pilot project for the presence of avian flu strains,” the statement said, adding that the funds will be used to transfer this new technology to the Animal Health Centre. “As the pilot project evolves into ongoing surveillance, the ability to diagnose the samples quickly at the Animal Health Centre will greatly enhance early detection efforts.”

The agriculture ministry will also be targetting owners of small poultry flocks by hosting workshops in different regions focusing on poultry health, and the sharing of information and resources such as the Small Flock Poultry Health Manual.

In addition, funding is being provided to “support a rapid response to any future outbreaks by having mobile equipment to help any infected poultry premises with the humane depopulation of infected bird populations within the province at all times and to train more responders in its use.”

The $300,000 is provided through the Biosecurity and Surveillance Program under Growing Forward 2, a five-year agreement launched in 2013 that provides a $3 billion, federal-provincial-territorial government investment in innovation, competitiveness and market development.


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