Two more British Columbia farms affected by avian flu outbreak

Jane Deacon in the Toronto Sun via the QMI Agency: Two more Fraser Valley, B.C., poultry farms have been hit by the avian flu outbreak, bringing the total number of affected birds to 155,000.

Despite efforts to reduce the spread of the disease, health officials say more farms could be affected in the days ahead. There are now seven farms affected.

"Since this is highly contagious and can spread rapidly, we might see more at-risk farms come up," said Dr. Harpreet Kochhar, chief veterinary officer with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Eight countries, including the U.S., have temporarily closed their borders to B.C. and Canadian poultry products since the virus was confirmed last week...

A microscopic view of H5N1, from the US Centers for Disease Control