Dead Bird Surveillance

INCREASED MORTALITY

Any increase in mortality or suspicion of HPAI must be reported to the CFIA.

DO NOT SAMPLE Please contact CFIA immediately at the Sick Bird Call line 1-403-338-5225, the CFIA will conduct testing/investigate these types of sick bird reports.

Sample Procedure

If you have questions call 1-604-796-6017 (voice only, no text available).

Do not swab individual birds at time of death. Collect the birds over a 24-48 hour period and swab all at the same time. All ages of mortalities are subject to sampling. Sample 10 birds (dead, sick, moribund) per airspace (if less than 10 are available sample all deads). Put on clean gloves prior to sampling each barn/airspace. Two types of samples are required per bird (OP and C), ensure you put the correct samples in the appropriate vials.

For each airspace:

OP (Oropharyngeal: Area in the back of the throat inside the beak): Swirl the swab around the back of the throat a few times in each direction.

• Drag it forward and across the slit in the roof of the mouth (choanal groove).
• Swirl the swab in the UTM™ vial labelled OP, thoroughly squeeze out fluid against the side of the vial. Remove the swab and discard. Do not leave the swab in the vial. Tighten lid onto vial until snug (don’t overtighten).

C (Cloacal: back end of the bird): Insert swab into the cloaca 1-2 inches depending on the size of the bird

• Swirl swab two or three times while touching the lining of the vent.
• A small amount of feces should be visible. EXCESS feces will negatively impact the sample. Gently shake off excess feces by flicking the swab. Do not wipe the feces off in any way as this may impact the sample results.
• Swirl the swab in the UTM™ vial labelled C, thoroughly squeeze out fluid against the side of the vial. Remove the swab and discard. Do not leave the swab in the vial. Tighten lid onto vial until snug (don’t overtighten).

Labeling Vials AND Sample Bags

LABEL THE UTM VIAL SAMPLES AS BELOW:

CFIA ID Airspace/Barn ID Sample Date (MonthDay i.e. Sept 26)

BCXXX-01-0926 OP

BCXXX-01-0926 C

Refer to your CFIA information package for information related to sampling for your premises.

• Place the two vials into the small sealable bag (one bag per airspace) with the absorbent material.
• Label small bag with CFIA premises ID and airspace ID where samples were collected.

Completing DBS Sampling Summary Sheets

• Fill in the CFIA ID and sampling date. For each airspace being tested: fill the ID of the airspace, circle species type, the approximate time of sampling, the number of birds you swabbed and the total number of mortalities per airspace (four airspaces can be recorded per sheet).
• Initial the three statements and print/sign your name where requested at the bottom of the page.
• If you take this sheet into the barn, keep the bag in a clean place while recording sampling information and replace the sheet inside the bag when you are done (do not fold sheet).
• Do not put the sampling summary sheet in with the samples.