Canada purchases 500,000 human H5N1 vaccine doses

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.

Related Stories
Tight cattle supplies keep prices high for ranchers, but policy shifts, export barriers, and packer losses signal a volatile road ahead for the beef supply chain.
Recognizing phosphorus and potash as critical minerals underscores their importance in crop production and food security, providing producers with an added layer of risk protection.
Pork producers should prioritize health and productivity gains, hedge feed and hogs selectively, and watch Brazil’s export pace and China’s sow policy for price signals.
AFBF Economist Danny Munch shares how passing the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act could give the dairy industry a needed boost.
Texas Cattle Feeders Association Chairman Robby Kirkland explains how the ongoing U.S.-Mexico border closure impacts feed yards that rely on Mexican cattle due to the New World Screwworm.
Record output, larger stocks, and softer exports point to a well-supplied domestic ethanol market as harvest progresses.