BY MEAGAN FITZPATRICK, CANWEST NEWS SERVICEOCTOBER 20, 2009
http://www.canada.com/health/OntarioturkeyscontractswineH1N1shotsurgedlivestockfarmers/2124788/story.html
OTTAWA — To reduce the risk of the H1N1 virus mutating, livestock workers were pressed Tuesday to get their flu shots following the discovery of a turkey flock with the illness.
The outbreak at a farm owned by Hybrid Turkeys near Kitchener, Ont., poses no risk to human health, officials said at a news conference, but they warned about the dangers of viruses moving back and forth between humans and animals.
“We have to do all we can to stop the transmission of viruses between people and animals,” said Dr. Arlene King, Ontario’s top medical officer. “The risk is potential changes to the virus, against which people could have reduced or low immunity.”
Tests have shown that the virus found in the turkeys is the same one that has been circulating in humans since the pandemic began in the spring, and it has not changed.
It’s suspected that a human passed the illness to the animals, and about 19 people are being interviewed by the local health unit. Preliminary results of those interviews show one person had flu symptoms, but there are no other details available about whether that person felt sick before or after contact with the animals.
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http://www.canada.com/health/OntarioturkeyscontractswineH1N1shotsurgedlivestockfarmers/2124788/story.html
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