Home PSEPC Daily Brief DOB05-237

Daily Brief

The PSEPC Daily Brief is a compilation of summaries of publicly available and PSEPC information concerning critical infrastructure protection and emergency management.

DOB05-237 - 12 December 2005

News

Poultry farms in B.C. Fraser Valley declared free of avian influenza
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB05-229, on December 10, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands declared the poultry farms in two surveillance zones in B.C.’s Fraser Valley to be free of avian influenza. The decision has been made after three rounds of weekly testing detected no further evidence of infection. The surveillance zones and all related quarantines affecting 80 premises have been removed. The lifting of the quarantine means that the normal movement of commercial poultry and poultry products on and off farms in the surveillance zones can be resumed. The two premises where the virus was initially detected remain under quarantine until the CFIA verifies that cleaning and disinfection have been completed.
(Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 10 December 2005)
Source article

Japanese border opens to Canadian beef
On December 11, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that Japan agreed to reopen its border to Canadian beef and selected beef products from cattle aged 20 months and younger. In addition to meeting the age requirement, beef products destined for Japan must be processed in accordance with a range of conditions.
(Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 11 December 2005)
Source article

According to the CFIA’s report Canada: a minimal BSE risk country, the incidence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada is equivalent to that of a minimal risk country.

The BSE import policy for bovine animals and their products is now available on the CFIA website.

CFIA warns that JHC brand cooked seasoning anchovies might be contaminated
On December 9, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a public warning not to consume JHC Brand Cooked Seasoning Anchovies because the product might be contaminated with Salmonella.
(Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 9 December 2005)
Source article

The CFIA provides additional information on preventing this foodborne illness in Salmonella Food Safety Facts.

Avian influenza: Update
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB05-235, on December 9, the Ministry of Health in China confirmed an additional human case of H5N1 avian influenza. The victim, a 31-year-old female farmer, underwent hospital treatment and recovered. An investigation of this case has linked the woman’s infection to direct exposure to diseased poultry. As a precautionary measure, local authorities placed contacts of the woman under medical observation, but no additional cases of infection were detected.

On December 9, the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand confirmed a further case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The victim, a 5-year-old boy, was hospitalized after developing symptoms and died. Early results suggest that the child might have acquired the infection from dead chickens in the neighbourhood. His family and neighbours have been placed under medical observation. No additional incidence of infection was found. A complete investigation of this case is currently under way.
(Source: World Health Organization, 9 December 2005)
Source article

The World Health Organization reports that since December 2003, there have been 137 cases of H5N1 avian influenza, resulting in 70 deaths in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and China.
Source article

In brief

Power restored to almost all of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Power restored power to 97 percent of its customers by midnight on Saturday, December 11. Approximately 4000 customers were without power through the night as power crews concentrated on individual customers and small pockets where service was damaged by the heavy wet snow
(Source: NOVA SCOTIA POWER, 11 December 2005)
Source article

Almost 100,000 customers had lost power after a major snowstorm in Nova Scotia on December 10.

Cyber risk assessment

Over the course of the past 72 hours, the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) has not detected any significant new threats or vulnerabilities.  No significant incidents with the potential to affect critical infrastructure have been reported.  Accordingly, based on the information available to CCIRC, the cyber risk facing Canadian critical infrastructure is assessed as low.  Personnel responsible for information, systems and network security should continue to apply appropriate security precautions and monitor their systems.

Recent cyber alerts and advisories issued by CCIRC can be viewed under “Recent analytical releases” at www.psepc.gc.ca/ccirc.

See also...

• The Weather Office
• FAC - Travel Updates

Note to readers

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) collects information related to cyber and physical threats to, and incidents involving, Canadian critical infrastructure. This allows us to monitor and analyze threats and to issue alerts, advisories and other information products.

Any suspected criminal activity should be reported to local law enforcement organizations. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) National Operations Centre (NOC) provides a 24/7 service to receive such reports or to redirect callers to local law enforcement organizations. The NOC can be reached at (613) 993-4460. National security concerns should be reported to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) at (613) 993-9620.

Links to sites not under the control of the Government of Canada (GoC) are provided solely for the convenience of users. The GoC is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The GoC does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

Some hyperlinks in the PSEPC Daily Brief direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act. Users should be aware that these sources are only available in the language in which they are written.