Avian flu returns to Canadian commercial poultry

Canada has had its first confirmed case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in more than a month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported.

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Canada has had its first confirmed case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in more than a month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported.

According to the agency, the presence of the virus was confirmed in a flock in West Lincoln Township, Ontario, on March 14. CFIA has not yet disclosed the size of the flock or what type of commercial poultry operation was involved.

While there was a case in a backyard poultry flock in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, confirmed on March 10, not since February 8 have any cases been confirmed in Canadian commercial poultry operations. On that day, the presence of HPAI was confirmed in one commercial flock in the Le Haut-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality and two commercial flocks in the Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional County Municipality.

However, Ontario has not had any HPAI cases in commercial poultry since December 21, when a flock in Lambdton Shores was affected. The only other case to be confirmed in West Lincoln Township was a backyard flock, and that case was reported in October 2022.

This marks the 31st case of HPAI in commercial poultry flocks in Ontario during the 2022-23 outbreak. The province’s first commercial case was confirmed nearly one year ago, on March 27, 2022.

British Columbia remains the province with the most confirmed HPAI cases. Other provinces to have commercial flocks affected are Alberta, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. 

Whether it be in backyard flocks or wild birds, all Canadian provinces and territories have had at least one confirmed HPAI case, according to various government agencies.

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.

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