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 The restrictions began on Dec. 4, the same day that Canada
identified the virus as a "highly pathogenic" H5N2 strain, said John
Clifford, the USDA's chief veterinarian.
"It's a temporary ban," Clifford said in a telephone interview,
adding that the ban will likely last several months.
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is an infectious viral disease of
birds. Most bird flu viruses do not infect humans or pose safety
risks when poultry products are properly handled and cooked.
Canada's chief veterinary officer, Harpreet Kochhar, said on Monday
that the United States had restricted imports of British Columbia
birds and hatching eggs, poultry meat, eggs and egg products and
animal byproducts.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said five British Columbia farms
were infected with avian influenza, killing 80,000 turkeys and
chickens so far. The birds on the farms that survived the flu are
being destroyed.
The USDA does not "see any current risk to human health" in the
United States due to the outbreak, Clifford said. The department is
evaluating whether to dispatch an employee to Canada to take part in
the response, he added.
Canada "invited us last week to send somebody if we wanted to,"
Clifford said.
British Columbia exported live fowl and poultry products to the
United States worth C$5.8 million ($5.05 million) in 2013, according
to Statistics Canada.
Canada and Chile are the two biggest suppliers of imported poultry
to the United States, said Tom Super, spokesman for the National
Chicken Council in Washington, D.C., while noting that 99 percent of
the chicken eaten in the United States is hatched, raised and
processed in the country.
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"In the grand scheme of total consumption, products from those
countries are miniscule," Super said.
Ray Nickel, president of the B.C. Poultry Association, said farmers
in the province mainly grow turkeys and chickens for domestic
buyers.
South Korea, Hong Kong, South Africa, Mexico, Taiwan and Japan have
also imposed varying bans on Canadian poultry products due to the
outbreak.
Kochhar said officials had established restrictions on movement of
captive birds, poultry products and feed within a zone around the
infected farms.
(Additional reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Editing by Leslie
Adler and Diane Craft)
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