Canadian fined for bringing pathogens on airplane

An Ontario man has been fined CA$20,000 (US$15,200) after being convicted of bringing test tubes containing pathogens that pose serious disease threats to animals into an airport.

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(Iofoto | Bigstock)
(Iofoto | Bigstock)

An Ontario man has been fined CA$20,000 (US$15,200) after being convicted of bringing test tubes containing pathogens that pose serious disease threats to animals into an airport.

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Gang Li, a resident of Guelph, Ontario, was convicted in the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, Ontario, for violating section 16(1) of the Health of Animals Act and section 51 of the Health of Animals Regulations.

The conviction comes from an incident that occurred on January 24, 2017, when Li arrived via another flight to Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario. The location of where Li has flown from was not identified by CFIA.

When Li arrived at the airport, he was intercepted by authorities from the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). He had seven undeclared test tubes containing what at the time were unknown substances in his checked baggage, which he did not declare upon arrival.

The contents of those test tubes were tested, and laboratory testing declared that the tubes contained Newcastle disease virus, Duck adenovirus 1, Peste des petits ruminants virus and Parainfluenza virus 5.

Li was unable to show any permits or documentation related to his possession of the pathogens.

“All of these viruses may pose serious disease threats to animals. Therefore, their importation and movement is strictly regulated in Canada, governed by federal legislation containing provisions designed to protect human and animal health. In the case of some pathogenic organisms, importation is strictly prohibited,” CFIA said in a statement.

The conviction comes at a time when an outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease is troubling the U.S. poultry industry. In addition to affecting several hundred “backyard exhibition chickens” in California and one in Utah, it has been detected in three commercial layer flocks.

Duck adenovirus 1 has been associated with egg drop syndrome, while Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus is mostly found in smaller ruminant animals. Parainfluenza virus 5 is most commonly associated with cattle.

According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), there is an active outbreak of Peste des petits ruminants in Algeria, in which there have been 6,387 susceptible sheep and 484 susceptible goats.

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