Will Canadian dairies be prone to H5N1 infections soon?

The country had three commercial poultry flocks recently affected, but for now, the dairy herds have been untouched by the virus.

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While the H5N1 virus has affected dairy cattle in 14 U.S. states since March, but Canadian dairy herds have so far been spared.

How long that will continue to be the case remains a mystery, said RSM Consulting’s Dr. Kay Russo, a veterinarian with experience in both the dairy and poultry industries.

The topic is on people’s minds possibly more now than before, because on October 21, the presence of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed in three commercial poultry flocks in British Columbia. These were the first confirmed cases of HPAI in commercial poultry in Canada since February.

Russo, while speaking at the virtual H5N1 Real World Roundtable on October 24, said it is difficult to know the odds of a Canadian bovine infection, because as of now, it is not known what the genotype of the H5N1 found in those flocks is. If it was the B3.13 genotype, which has been found in U.S. dairy cattle, that could make a difference. Russo said there has been no indication on wild bird sampling that migratory birds are carrying the B3.13 variant yet

But Russo said for now, time could be on Canadian dairy producers’ side.

“It’s to be determined. Most of the birds are moving north to south at this point, so hopefully, they won’t be carrying it north right now,” she said.

She also noted that Canadians could be at an advantage because when the virus first started to hit cattle in the U.S., there was not a lot of communication between the dairy and poultry industries, and that is no longer the case.

“There’s better collaboration not only between governmental entities but also the different ag sectors,” Russo said.

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