On March 31, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza, H5N1, in a poultry flock in the Township of Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Ontario. The CFIA did not disclose further information on the poultry species involved or how many birds were in the flock. To control any possible spread of the disease, the CFIA has quarantined the facility and introduced movement control measures and recommended enhanced biosecurity for other farms in the area. The previous three HPAI-affected poultry flocks in Ontario included a commercial turkey herd in the Township of Guelph / Eramosa, a commercial turkey flock in the Township of Zorra, and an unspecified poultry flock in the Township of Woolwich. One of the commercial flocks involved 8,800 turkeys, while the other 5,650 turkeys. Following the province’s first bird flu test, the Ontario Feather Board Administration Center issued enhanced biosafety advice to all poultry farmers, small herders and poultry industry staff across the province, with immediate effect. The only other HPAI case reported in commercial poultry in Canada occurred in Nova Scotia, where a flock of 11,800 turkeys was affected. The HPAI presence has also been confirmed in Newfoundland and Labrador counties, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and British Columbia. However, all of these cases involved wild birds, yard poultry or show birds and should not lead to trade restrictions according to OIE standards. Elsewhere in North America, HPAI has also been detected in commercial poultry in the US states of North Carolina, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Maryland, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, and MI. Wisconsin. To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in North America, see an interactive map at WATTPoultry.com. Read the ongoing coverage of the global bird flu epidemic.
