Two strains of “highly pathogenic” bird flu have been found in Washington state’s Whatcom County, which lies along the Canadian border just south of the Lower Mainland.
The disease was found in northern pintail ducks and gyrfalcons – both wild birds not kept on farms.
This comes just weeks after the discovery of a highly virulent strain of the disease in southern British Columbia that has affected up to 10 farms, leading to several countries restricting Canadian poultry imports.
One of the strains found in Whatcom county was H5N2 – the same disease found in B.C. The other strain has not been found in this province.
It has not been confirmed whether or not the H5N2 spread to Washington state from B.C., but the disease was detected because of testing done by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in response to the B.C. outbreak.
Both the Canadian and the American governments have announced that there is no public health concern for humans.
“Neither virus has been found in commercial poultry anywhere in the United States and no human cases with these viruses have been detected in the United States, Canada or internationally,” the USDA said December 17.
The USDA said it now monitoring both commercial and wild birds in Whatcom County.
On the same day of the announcement, BMO announced a relief program for Canadian farmers affected by the epidemic.
The program will include deferral of loan payments, the implementation of flexible terms on lines of credit and waivers of new loan applications.
“… affected poultry producers are no doubt feeling a great deal of uncertainty around what the next few days, weeks and months will bring in light of the recent events surrounding avian influenza,” said BMO’s Mike Bonner, senior vice-president, B.C. and Yukon division.
