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AVIAN INFLUENZA, H7N3, POULTRY - CANADA (SASKATCHEWAN) (04)

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has put another 

Saskatchewan chicken farm under quarantine, but says the move is only 

a precautionary measure.



The small farm affected by the decision on Friday [28 Sep 2007] is 

less than 3 km away from Pedigree Poultry, a much larger operation 

just north of Regina, where officials confirmed on Thursday [27 Sep 

2007] they had found a strain of avian influenza. The CFIA said the 

quarantine measures are standard given the close proximity of the 2 

farms. It said the 20 chickens tested on what the agency calls a 

"small backyard operation" have shown no signs of disease.



More than 50 000 chickens at the Pedigree Poultry operation near 

Regina Beach were to be killed and all equipment thoroughly sanitized.



The H7N3 strain of influenza is fatal to birds but isn't a danger to 

human health, and it's not expected to have much of an economic 

impact, according to Lisa Bishop Spencer of the Chicken Farmers of Canada.



She says much has changed since Canada had its last case of avian flu 

3 years ago in British Columbia, where the virus swept through a 

number of farms, and that industry and government have developed a 

system to respond quickly to any future outbreaks.



She says she's confident the virus in Saskatchewan will be contained 

to the large commercial farm and that there will be little economic 

fallout, even if other countries close their borders.



"We export roughly 7.5 per cent of what we produce here in Canada," 

she told CBC News.



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Avian influenza, H7N3, poultry - Canada (SK) (02) 20070929.3221

Avian influenza, H7N3, poultry - Canada (SK) 20070928.3210]

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