Canada's bird flu vaccine order 'the right next step,' says Atlantic Vet College's infection control chief

Veterinarians on Prince Edward Island who have been monitoring the spread of avian influenza for years are encouraged by the federal government's move to vaccinate people who are most at risk.

Last week, the Public Health Agency of Canada bought 500,000 doses of the vaccine that guards against the virus, which is also known as bird flu and formally as H5N1.

"This is a great step, and it speaks to preparedness," said Dr. Jason Stull, the chief of infection control at the Atlantic Veterinary College, based at UPEI in Charlottetown. 

"We're taking this seriously, we're doing what we need to do so that we're in the best position so that should this virus change in a way that impacts us greater… that we can absolutely respond to it, so I think that that's the right next step to do." 

The Public Health Agency of Canada purchased 500,000 doses of the vaccine Arepanrix H5N1 from drug maker GSK to protect against the virus for those most at risk of exposure. That includes veterinarians and others who work closely with infected animals.

Sixty per cent of the doses will be distributed to provinces and territories "in the coming weeks," the agency said on Feb. 19, while the remainder will be stockpiled "for national preparedness." 

P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Office will determine who will be able to get the vaccine in this province. The agency said in a statement to CBC News that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization "has not recommended a broad deployment" of the vaccine. 

"Although P.E.I. has detected sporadic cases of H5N1 in wildlife over the last two years, at this time, P.E.I. has not had any H5N1 outbreaks in domestic agricultural production or human cases of H5N1," reads the statement.

"P.E.I. will have access to H5N1 vaccine at any time for farm workers in the case of infected animals or if there is a need to provide prophylaxis to humans to prevent spread."

Stull said the biggest worry with bird flu on the Island is its potential to infect animals like wild birds and domestic poultry. 

The virus does have the potential to spread to humans if it enters our milk supply through dairy cattle that contract the flu through contact with infected animals. 

However, Stull said the risk of that is very low right now, so people shouldn't be afraid. He did say that Islanders and their pets should stay away from wildlife, particularly if it's dead, and domestic poultry.

"We've seen a variety of things happening in the United States. Over the past year, we've seen the virus move into dairy cattle, which previously we haven't seen," Stull said. "So part of it is really staying proactive and then taking the steps… to try and protect ourselves." 

Canada reported its first domestically acquired human case of avian influenza last November when a teenaged patient in B.C. was placed on life support. The teen needed significant respiratory support, doctors said, then began to improve and was discharged from hospital on Jan. 7.