Canada has had its first commercial poultry flock infected with the H5N2 serotype of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Prior to now, all of Canada’s cases in commercial poultry have involved the H5N1 serotype, although the H5N5 serotype has been confirmed in wild birds and in mammals in the country.
According to a report from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) a commercial layer flock in Abbotsford, British Columbia had been experiencing high mortality, and testing conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease confirmed that the virus present in the flock was of the H5N2 serotype.
A phylogenic analysis indicated that this virus corresponds to the Eurasian lineage circulating in 2021 in Europe, the WOAH report stated.
This particular flock was within a primary control zone of other poultry flocks affected by the H5N1 lineage of HPAI.
WOAH and CFIA have not disclosed the size of the H5N2-positive flock.
Since October 21, 22 commercial poultry flocks in British Columbia have been affected by HPAI, 16 of which have been in Abbotsford, reported the CFIA. WOAH previously announced eight of those 16 Abbotsford flocks were infected with H5N1 HPAI, but the serotypes involved with the other seven affected flocks in the municipality have not yet been made public by either animal health organization.
The only other province in Canada to have a confirmed case of HPAI in commercial poultry this fall is Saskatchewan.
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.
