Why Canada’s food inspection agency won’t do interviews as avian flu outbreak in Ontario grows

As the number of birds killed in an outbreak of bird flu on Indian farms near Strathroy, Ont., approaches 100,000, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says it will not allow its employees to give media interviews for fear they will face harassment or even death threats.

About 95,000 birds were affected at five different turkey farms in the area where the outbreak began Nov. 26, according to the CFIA. A control zone has been created to limit new cases of infection.

The number of affected birds at each of the five affected sites ranges from 15,200 to 33,000. The CFIA says it cannot provide information on specific farms for privacy reasons.

One expert called it “problematic,” saying the public was missing out on vital information during the outbreak.

Press secretaries were threatened, CFIA reports

The CFIA also does not provide a representative for media interviews. The agency said that since it had culled just over 300 ostriches following the bird flu outbreak in farm in British Columbia last monthEmployees were subjected to harassment and death threats.

“In the current environment, any CFIA employee who is publicly mentioned in connection with our response to avian influenza (whether they are located in British Columbia or Ontario) is immediately subject to harassment, including death threats, from individuals opposed to CFIA's policy to eradicate the virus in British Columbia at the Universal Ostrich Farm,” the agency said in a statement to CBC News.

University of Ottawa professor Daniel Stockmer says it's unfortunate that threats could limit media access during an outbreak.

“This is very problematic,” said Stockemer, who researches extremist groups. “What people want from government is extreme transparency. And so now they're being threatened and they're not providing that transparency? This may contribute to people's distrust of the government. This is not the way to combat disinformation.”

The Feather Board Command Center (FBCC), which coordinates the Ontario poultry industry's response to avian disease outbreaks, did not respond to a request for an interview with CBC News.

Bird flu poses a serious threat to humans, says scientist

Shayan Sharif, a professor of immunology at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, has been studying avian influenza for more than 20 years. He says the virus poses a potential threat to humans because it is highly contagious, can mutate quickly and has demonstrated the ability to interbreed between species.

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A domestic cat died in the US after eating raw pet food and contracting H5N1 avian influenza. Epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos told CBC News that the risk of any individual pet contracting avian flu is still low, but what's concerning is that the easier it becomes for it to infect different species of animals, “the easier it will eventually become for this virus to infect people.”

“He was able to hitchhike with migratory birds,” Sharif said. “And at the same time, it was actually able to infect many different species… over 300 different species of birds and over 40 species of mammals.”

Last year, a 13-year-old girl from British Columbia contracted bird flu, the first human case of the virus reported in Canada. She was in critical condition but was discharged after several weeks in hospital. Infected people may have symptoms similar to seasonal flu, although in severe cases it can also be life-threatening.

“These viruses go through a lot of mutations,” Sharif said. “In one poultry house, when the virus enters, it has a certain genetic structure. By the time that bird house is finished, it may actually have a completely different genetic structure.”

Sharif says the risk of human-to-human transmission of the virus is low right now, but that could change.

“Then we will be faced with a virus that I would say… definitely has pandemic potential,” he said. “This is really something we need to avoid.”

Sharif says culling birds poses significant challenges for the poultry industry, but it is “one of the main tools we have” in controlling outbreaks.

He also pointed to progress in developing vaccines for both humans and birds. Earlier this year, the Public Health Agency of Canada bought 500,000 doses of human vaccine to protect those most at risk from avian influenza.