On March 31, the CFIA reported that a flock of poultry in the Township of Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Ontario, was the most recent confirmed case of HPAI in the province, but gave no further details about the crop. A day later, the agency clarified that the fourth case was in fact in a backyard herd. Meanwhile, a fifth case has been confirmed, with it also appearing in a herd in the backyard. The CFIA said the case took place in the municipality of Selwyn. To date, Ontario has had three confirmed cases of HPAI. These included a commercial turkey herd in the municipality of Guelph / Eramosa, a commercial turkey herd in the Township of Zorra and an unspecified poultry herd in the Township of Woolwich. The size of the herd and the species involved in the Woolwich case have not yet been made public by the CFIA, but the other two cases were in turkey businesses with a total of 14,450 turkeys. The HPAI has also been confirmed in a wild red-tailed hawk in Ontario. 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. Many US states have also had confirmed cases of HPAI, with the virus appearing on all four North American flights. 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.
