According to the Canadian Food Inspection Service (CFIA), the latest case was confirmed in a poultry herd in the Township of Woolwich, in the southern part of the province. The virus found was the H5N1 serotype, according to the CFIA, and the case was confirmed March 30. No further information was provided by the CFIA, but the agency will report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Ontario had two previous cases of HPAI in commercial poultry, which were confirmed on March 27 and 28. According to a report on the website (OIE), one of the farms in the Oxford area saw 375 birds die after exposure to HPAI. There were a total of 8,800 vulnerable 4-week-old turkeys on the premises. The other farm, according to the OIE, is located in the Wellington area and housed 5,650 birds. Of these, 600 turkeys died after being infected with HPAI. The birds on this farm were 13-week-old breeding turkeys. Ontario also had a confirmed case of HPAI in a wild red-tailed hawk. 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.
