After a more than a five-month absence in Quebec, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has returned to commercial poultry in the province.
According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the virus was confirmed in a commercial flock in Arthabaska Regional County on October 25. CFIA has not yet disclosed the size of the flock or the type of poultry that was involved.
The latest case marks the first time HPAI has hit poultry in the province since the presence of the virus was confirmed a flock in Les Maskoutains on May 6. It is also the first case to hit in eastern Canada since that date. All other cases in commercial poultry this fall have been in the western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Quebec has had 40 flocks affected by HPAI since April 12, 2022. Of those, 24 of those flocks were affected in 2023. This is the first case, however, for Arthabaska Regional County.
HPAI hits another farm in British Columbia
In addition to the new case in Quebec, CFIA reported a new confirmed case of HPAI in British Columbia.
The latest case for the province was confirmed on October 26 in Chilliwack. Like was the situation with the Quebec case, CFIA has not yet disclosed information on flock size or the type of birds involved.
British Columbia has had four commercial poultry flocks struck by HPAI in October, with three of those being in Chilliwack. The other was in nearby Abbotsford.
Since April 13, 2022, British Columbia has reported 83 commercial poultry flocks impacted by HPAI, making it the province with the most flocks affected. Twenty-six of those have been in Chilliwack.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Canada and Mexico, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
Read our ongoing coverage of the global avian influenza outbreak.
