Canada’s first avian influenza case of 2023 confirmed

The first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a Canadian commercial poultry flock in 2023 was confirmed on January 7.

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the case was confirmed in the city of Chilliwack, British Columbia. CFIA did not offer information regarding the type of birds involved or the number of birds in the most recently affected flock.

The Chilliwack case was confirmed just one day after HPAI was confirmed in two backyard flocks in British Columbia. One of those cases was in the Alberni-Clayoquot regional district, while the other was confirmed in the district of Tofino.

So far, British Columbia has been the only province to have a confirmed case of HPAI in a commercial flock this year. It is also the province to have the most confirmed cases in 2022 at 72. Of those, 17 were located in Chilliwack. Abbotsford, British Columbia, had the most cases of any municipality in 2022 with 43.

The last case of HPAI in a commercial poultry flock in Canada outside of British Columbia was confirmed on December 21 in Lambton Shores, Ontario.

Provinces to have confirmed cases of HPAI in commercial poultry flocks since the outbreak began in December 2021 include British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. HPAI has also been confirmed in backyard poultry or wild birds in the provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the Canadian territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

The first case of HPAI for the United States of 2023 was confirmed in a commercial upland gamebird operation in Anderson County, Kansas, with that case being confirmed on January 4.

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.