Avian flu has broken out in at least seven locations across B.C.’s Fraser Valley this month, with six cases cropping up since Thursday, and local farmers are doing all they can to protect their flocks.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed seven commercial poultry farms in Abbotsford and Chilliwack are infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Fraser Valley egg farmer Mark Siemens said avian flu has become an increasingly stressful problem in B.C.

“It’s become an annual battle with farmers trying to keep their birds safe and healthy,” he said.

All commercial farms in the province are in a biosecurity lockdown, according to Siemens: the birds are kept in the barns, farm gates are closed, all arriving vehicles must be disinfected, and every worker has to change

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