B.C. poultry farmers told to vaccinate against flu as avian strains spread

British Columbia's provincial health officer is urging people living or working on the province's poultry farms to “prioritize” getting influenza vaccinations as avian flu spreads among flocks this fall.

Dr. Bonnie Henry said while avian flu doesn't transmit easily from birds to humans, infections are possible - creating a risk the virus will mutate into a more dangerous form.

“If we have somebody who gets infected with both the human and the bird virus, that virus can re-assort and create a new influenza virus that could be more infectious to humans,” said Henry at an update Friday on B.C.'s respiratory illness season.

"So that's a risk that's in the back of our mind all the time with these.”

That is why people connected to poultry farms are being asked to vaccinate against the human strains right away, she said.

Scientists and health officials around the world have long been concerned that a mutation of avian flu into a strain that is easily transmissible among humans could trigger a global pandemic.

Henry said at least 16 farms in B.C. have been affected by the latest avian flu outbreaks, with Canadian Food Inspection Agency data showing nine commercial infected zones, mostly in the Fraser Valley.

The number of infected flocks has grown dramatically in recent weeks, a development Henry said did not surprise officials.

She said health authorities are keeping a close eye on whether the return of migratory seabirds in the fall would bring about new outbreaks of avian flu, after spring migrations triggered the last cluster of outbreaks in the province.

"So far, globally, there's been very little spillover infecting humans," Henry said. “But it can happen.

"The risk of infection is low for most of us, given the limited contact we'd generally have with infected birds. But people like workers on poultry farms, farm families and others who have close contact with birds, (we) really encourage you to make sure you're taking the appropriate precautions.”

The province said it has administered more than one million influenza vaccines and close to 850,000 COVID-19 shots since launching its respiratory immunization campaign in October.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2023.