Prince George, B.C.- Two more farms in the Fraser Valley have been identified as having  avian influenza.

This brings to eight, the number of poultry farms in that area,  infected with avian influenza.The  confirmation of the  avian flu  on the two  additional farms, brings the number of impacted birds to 155 thousand.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency  Chief  Veterinary Officer  Dr. Harpreet Kochhar  says the  discovery of the two additional farms is  not  unexpected.  The  additional  farms are  located close to the original  sites where the  avian influenza was first detected.

Earlier this week, the  CFIA and Province, created  a ‘control zone’ which covers  half  of the Province, stretching west to the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the U.S. border, on the north by Highway 16 and on the east by the B.C. -Alberta border.

Kochhar says the zone will remain in place until the CFIA “is confident that the outbreak is contained,” noting it has the support of both the provincial government and the poultry industry.

Dr. Kochhar  says  avian flu poses no threat to human health if the poultry products are cooked properly.

The discovery of avian flu   in the Fraser Valley has  resulted in  numerous countries suspending imports of  poultry  either from B.C. or from all of Canada.