While Manitoba’s commercial poultry industry was mostly spared from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) during the earlier months of the 2022 outbreak, a third case of HPAI was confirmed in the province over a six-day span.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported that the latest case was confirmed in a commercial poultry flock in the Rural Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton on September 19. Two earlier cases were confirmed in the Rural Municipality of Cartier – one on September 14 and another on September 16.
Prior to these three cases, only one HPAI case had been reported in a commercial flock in the province. That case was confirmed on April 23 in Whitemouth. That case involved a flock of 15,422 broilers, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
Details regarding flock size and type of the three most recent cases in Manitoba have not yet been released.
New case in Alberta
CFIA also reported a new HPAI case in a commercial poultry flock in the Municipal District of Taber, with that case being confirmed on September 20.
That brings the number of new cases in the province within the past week to five, although this is Taber’s first case of 2022.
Following a period of reduced cases of HPAI in Canada, the country has seen a significant uptick in avian influenza detections in recent months. In September alone, the country has had 14 commercial poultry flocks affected. Alberta has had the most with eight, followed by Manitoba with three. Saskatchewan has had two cases this month, while British Columbia and Ontario have both had one.
Earlier this year, Quebec and Nova Scotia had confirmed cases in commercial poultry.
Meanwhile, in the United States, 12 new cases of HPAI have been reported in commercial poultry flocks so far in September, affecting flocks in Minnesota, Utah, California and Ohio. However, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has not reported any new confirmed cases since September 14.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
Read our ongoing coverage of the global avian influenza outbreak.
