Canada purchased half a million doses of a human vaccine for high path avian flu. It is an effort to keep health risks at bay.
Last week an outbreak was reported in a backyard layer poultry farm in Canada.
One infectious disease expert warns with so many cases of seasonal flu popping up, it is likely the two viruses could mix. That would ultimately create a new virus.
According to Matthew Miller, “That process is how all prior flu pandemics, that we’re aware of in the past, have started. Two different influenza viruses infect one host. The avian flu might maintain the severe disease that it causes but gain the ability to spread well between humans the way that seasonal flu can.”
Canada’s Public Health Agency says that risks to the public are still low, but they warn that it is best to stay away from poultry flocks this flu season.
