Poultry workers did not comply with public health recommendations requiring them to wear protective goggles during British Columbia's avian flu outbreak in 2004, a new study suggests.

The H7N3 form of bird flu infected 1.3 million birds that year in the province and led to economic losses that were estimated at more than $300 million.

Molecular scientist Ken Sojonky searches for the presence of viral RNA in swabs from fowl coming from farms in the Chilliwack area of British Columbia.
(Canadian Press)

Dr. Danuta Skowronski of the BC Centre for Disease Control and her colleagues surveyed 167 people in the spring of 2004 to look at both cases of illness and compliance with recommended protective measures.

The only two human infections in the province occurred after direct contact with the eyes, which highlights the importance of wearing goggles, the team said. They found that the H7N3 strain of the disease caused mild eye infections.

"Recommended protective measures should be provided and readily accessible to any potentially exposed person during future outbreaks of avian influenza," the researchers concluded in Tuesday's issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"These precautions should be simple and feasible and should enable safe and unobstructed work; evaluation of compliance, effectiveness and impact should be undertaken."

"Given predictions of the further inexorable spread of the Eurasian H5N1 virus and its possible entry into North America, these lessons should be collectively addressed now." (The form of the virus that was found in Canada, H7N3, was a different strain than the H5N1 strain that was found in Eurasia).

When participants were asked about their biosafety concerns, eye protection was cited the most often. However, they said the goggles they used fit poorly over regular glasses, fogged up frequently or generally interfered with vision.

During the outbreak, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency provided protective gear to its workers but they were unable to give it to farmers, a difference that may be reflected in the results of the study, the researchers said.

Unlike a vaccine or antiviral medication, the protective gear has to be repeatedly donned and doffed, and compliance may be harder to recall, the study found.