Four new cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry flocks have been reported by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
All four cases were confirmed in the British Columbia province on December 7, 2022. One case was detected on Chilliwack, another case was detected in Langley Township and the last two were found in Abbotsford.
Information concerning the types of birds in these flocks, or how many birds were involved has not yet been disclosed.
In 2022, British Columbia has had more HPAI cases than any other province in Canada. These four new detections bring the province’s case count to 52. Of those, 32 were confirmed in Abbotsford. Other locations in British Columbia that have confirmed cases include Chilliwack with 13, Langley Township with five, North Okahagan with one and the District of Kent with one.
Canada’s other provinces with commercial HPAI case detections this year include Ontario with 27, Manitoba with 17, Quebec with 16, Saskatchewan with 16 and Nova Scotia with two.
Avian influenza has also been detected in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, however, those provinces have only had confirmed cases in backyard flocks or wild birds.
Biosecurity to improve in Canada
As part of the new Poultry Biosecurity Preparedness Initiative, the governments of Canada and Ontario committed to funding up to CA$1.5 million to help eligible non-supply-managed poultry operations and related businesses strengthen their biosecurity programs.
The initiative is a branch of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership and will assist producers in adding equipment designed to strengthen on-farm biosecurity, supplying cleaning equipment and improving protocols to mitigate interactions between wild and farmed birds.
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.
