The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) stated that the fourth flock in Ontario to test positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was a backyard flock.
On March 31, CFIA reported that a poultry flock in the Township of Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Ontario, was the latest confirmed HPAI case in the province, but did not offer more details on the crop.
A day later, the agency clarified that the fourth case was in fact in a backyard flock. Meanwhile, a fifth case has been confirmed, with this one also appearing in a backyard flock. CFIA stated that this case occurred in the Township of Selwyn.
To date, Ontario has had three confirmed cases of HPAI. Those included a commercial turkey flock in the Township of Guelph/Eramosa, a commercial turkey flock in the Township of Zorra, and an unspecified poultry flock in the Township of Woolwich.
The flock size and species involved in the Woolwich case has not yet been released by CFIA, but the other two cases were in turkey operations with a combined total of 14,450 turkeys.
HPAI has also been confirmed in a wild red-tailed hawk in Ontario.
The only other case of HPAI to be reported in commercial poultry in Canada occurred in Nova Scotia, where a flock of 11,800 turkeys was affected.
The presence of HPAI has also been confirmed in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and British Columbia. However, those cases were all in wild birds, backyard poultry or exhibition birds and should not result in any trade restrictions in accordance with OIE standards.
Numerous U.S. states have also had confirmed cases of HPAI, with the virus showing up in all four North American flyways.
To learn more about HPAI cases in North American commercial poultry flocks, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
Read our ongoing coverage of the global avian influenza outbreak.
