The Feather Board Command Centre says a buffered biosecurity advisory has been issued near Hanover following a "high mortality incident" in a poultry flock.
The advisory was issued to some farms within a 10 kilometer zone around the town of Hanover.
Poultry farmers in the area are being advised to keep poultry away from wild birds, to ensure equipment is disinfected before taking it into poultry houses, maintain high sanitation standards and to limit access to farms to essential visitors only.
The notice also suggests farmers "exercise extreme caution and invoke heightened biosecurity measures on your farm."
More information on this story as details are made available.
A request for comment from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Feather Board Command Centre and Chicken Farmers of Ontario have so far not been answered.
The Feather Board Command Centre is asking poultry farmers within the zone to: • Keep poultry away from areas frequented by wild birds. • Maintain strict control over access to poultry houses and your premises. • Make sure equipment is cleaned and disinfected before taking it into poultry houses. • Do not keep bird feeders or create duck ponds close to poultry barns. • Maintain the highest sanitation standards. • Change footwear when entering the Restricted Area and prevent wearing contaminated clothing and equipment in production areas. • Control access to your farm site by communicating the situation to all essential visitors, including service providers, input suppliers and feed providers. • Keep mortalities in secure, covered containers until they are moved to the disposal area or transported off-farm. • Place waste entering the public collection system in a sealed, waterproof bag with the exterior disinfected. • Place a hose and spray nozzle at entry point to Controlled Access Zone (CAZ); wash and disinfect vehicles at entry and at exit, paying special attention to wheels and wheel wells. • If possible, keep all waste on-farm until the situation is resolved. • IMPORTANT: Limit access to your farm to ESSENTIAL visitors only. Please note that each individual Feather Board (CFO, EFO, OBHECC, TFO) will be reaching out to their members regarding on-farm audits and inspections. Wherever possible, on-farm audits and inspections will be limited to essential visits only