Heather Wright/The Independent

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is dealing with an avian flu outbreak in the Petrolia area.

The Lambton Public Health announced Friday an investigation into Avian influenza in a poultry flock in Lambton County.

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Agriculture as well as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is investigating the outbreak in a commercial flock.

CFIA doesn’t identify the exact location of the outbreak but places restricted zones around the location the avian flu was found and puts restrictions on the movement of birds in a wider area.

The commercial security zone near Petrolia is bound by Churchill Line to Oakdale Road to Lasalle Line to Wanstead Road to Petrolia Line, up to Gypsy Flats to Oil Heritage Road. Industry vehicles, like those used for feed deliveries, will be the only vehicles allowed in the commercial security zone.

The wider protective zone stretches from Reeces Corners down to Shiloh Line near Inwood west to Fairweather Road and east to Suitorville Road and includes the Town of Petrolia. It’s a roughly 10 kilometre area around the infected area. Any movement of birds in this area has to receive a permit from CFIA.

According to a guide from the Chicken Farmers of Ontario, after a suspected avian flu case is identified, the access to the farm is blocked off with staff using personal protective equipment in the barns. CFIA officials head up the investigation and oversee the culling of the flock, the disposal of the dead birds, the cleaning and disinfection of the barns. The provincial agency is also notified so other poultry farmers are aware of the presence of avian flu.

The process is long and costly. The virus can live for very long periods of time, up to three months according to the Chicken Farmers of Ontario. Barns where avian flu is detected can be empty for months while the decontamination process takes place. That’s months without income for the farm family.

The Chicken Farmers of Ontario has mental health resources available for farmers dealing with the avian flu since “the fear of flocks being infected even with all the biosecurity protocols in place is heavy and real as infection often results in the loss of the entire flock and risk of AI spreading to neighbouring farms.”

There have been 10 avian flu outbreaks in Ontario this year – the latest was in the Municipality of Middlesex Centre Feb. 28.

Over 1.1 million birds have been put down due to the virus in Ontario alone.

Avian flu mostly affects poultry and wildlife like geese, ducks and shore birds. No human cases have been reported with the outbreak detected in Lambton.

Public health officials say only the people that worked directly with the birds could be affected.

“The risk of avian influenza for the general public remains low, however, the risk is higher for
those who work with sick animals or in contaminated environments, such as farmers. Individuals
should take precautions when interacting with and handling birds,” said Dr. Karalyn Dueck,
Medical Officer of Health for Lambton County in a news release.