Avian flu virus found at non-commercial farm in Aldergrove, B.C.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says a non-commercial farm of ducks, chickens, geese and turkeys in Aldergrove, B.C., has been infected with avian flu.
This is the first backyard farm to be infected. In its latest update on the avian flu outbreak in B.C., the agency said 85 birds have been affected.
Nearly 250,000 chickens and turkeys at commercial farms have already been affected by the outbreak of avian flu, which has infected 11 other sites in B.C.'s Fraser Valley since the beginning of December.
The agency has yet to determine the source of the outbreak or how it is spreading. The agency has noted it has not yet been detected in wild birds in Canada.
However, two wild birds in Washington state did test positive for avian flu last week. It's not clear whether those cases are connected in any way to the B.C. outbreak.
The most serious avian flu outbreak in Canada was in the Fraser Valley in 2004, when a highly pathogenic strain of the virus spread to 42 commercial farms and 11 backyard coops.
In response, the federal government ordered the slaughter of 17 million chickens, turkeys and other domestic birds.
Google Map: Areas affected by B.C. avian flu outbreak as of Dec. 23, 2014
