A popular Calgary petting zoo that has been temporarily closed due to confirmed cases. bird flu, remains closed, officials told Global News.
In an email Friday evening, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said: Butterfield Acres “remains a contaminated premises.”
“(It) is subject to Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) restrictions until the farm has completed cleaning and disinfection, after which there will be a standard 14-day vacancy period during which poultry will not be reintroduced to the premises,” a CFIA spokesperson wrote.
According to Alberta Health Services, as of Friday morning, 20 people had been referred for testing through Health Link, 10 of whom were children.
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The agency told Global News that no cases of bird flu have been detected in humans as tests carried out on 17 people have so far come back negative.
The Calgary-area farm, which has a petting zoo, was closed voluntarily from Oct. 13 to Oct. 17, and Alberta Health Services issued a formal closure order on Oct. 17.
The closure comes after Alberta Primary Health Services was notified on Oct. 16 of nine cases of avian influenza in poultry.
The farm must remain closed until the terms of the order are met and until public health inspectors and medical professionals deem it safe to reopen.
The order passed last week also urged people who visited the petting farm between Oct. 6 and Oct. 12 to monitor for symptoms.
Anyone who visited the farm during this period and has since experienced a fever, sore throat, cough or other flu-like symptoms is asked to isolate at home and call Health Link at 811 for assessment and testing. When calling 811, select option “2” and then option “1”. They will also be asked to isolate.
People who have not had symptoms do not need to call 811 and do not need to isolate, but are encouraged to continue monitoring their health.
The farm says it is working closely with provincial and federal health authorities to resolve the situation.
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