Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) continues to strike in the Pacific Flyway, as five more flocks in British Columbia and one more flock in California have been affected by the virus.
Avian influenza in British Columbia
According to information from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the presence of HPAI was confirmed in three flocks in Abbotsford on November 1 and one more there on November 3. The virus was also confirmed in a commercial flock in the Qathet District on November 31.
Additionally, HPAI was confirmed in a non-commercial flock in Strathcona on November 1.
Information concerning the type of poultry involved or the number of birds in these newly infected flocks has not yet been disclosed by CFIA.
Since October 21, British Columbia has had 14 commercial poultry flocks affected by HPAI. Of those, eight have been in Abbotsford, five have been in Chilliwack and one in Qathet.
Saskatchewan is the only other Canadian province to have a positive confirmation of HPAI in commercial poultry this fall. That instance was confirmed in Willner on October 25.
Avian influenza in California
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported that HPAI was confirmed in a commercial meat turkey flock in Sacramento County, California, on November 2.
The flock included 48,300 turkeys.
APHIS also offered an update on two previously reported flock infections. On October 30, the agency reported that two commercial broiler flocks in California – one in Kings County and one in Fresno County – had been infected with HPAI, but at the time, flock size information was not shared.
The APHIS website has since been updated, revealing that there’re were 204,600 birds in the Fresno County flock and 117,200 in the Kings County flock.
So far this fall, California has had eight commercial poultry operations struck by HPAI. The counties to have confirmed cases are Sacramento, Kings, Fresno, Tulare and Merced.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
