Highly pathogenic avian influenza cases are turning up in new areas of Eastern Canada, with a backyard flock in central Ontario and a few wild birds in southern Quebec now confirmed infected.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Saturday confirmed high-path H5N1 avian flu in a backyard flock in the township of Selwyn, Ont., north of Peterborough, followed by an outbreak confirmed Monday in a commercial poultry flock in the township of Centre Wellington, north of Guelph.
According to the Feather Board Command Centre, which monitors disease outbreaks for Ontario’s poultry and egg industries, the Selwyn outbreak was first reported March 31 in a small backyard flock showing high mortality. The Centre Wellington outbreak was in a commercial flock of about 1,500 birds showing “decreased production.”
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As of Tuesday the FBCC said it’s also monitoring three other premises with high mortalities and/or suspected cases, including one in southwestern Ontario, one north of Toronto and another in eastern Ontario, with no test results yet available.
Further east, the Quebec forests, wildlife and parks ministry on Monday reported findings of high-path H5N1 in three wild birds in that province: a Canada goose at Granby and two separate snow geese at St-Jean-sur-Richelieu and St-Isidore-de-Laprairie in the province’s Monteregie.
While those findings mark the first in any birds in Quebec during the current run of H5N1 outbreaks in North America, the ministry said they were “expected,” given the virus’ appearances in both wild and domestic birds elsewhere in both Canada and the U.S. over the past few months.
In the U.S. since February, cases of high-path H5N1 have now been confirmed in commercial poultry and/or backyard flocks in 23 states — including four states directly bordering Canada.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said it’s confirmed cases in flocks in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Virgina, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
APHIS said Sunday it has also now confirmed high-path avian flu in a commercial pheasant flock at Erath County in Texas, southwest of Fort Worth, though details weren’t available Tuesday on the specific type of avian flu in that case.
Other high-path H5N1 cases in Canada since last fall have included wild birds in all four Atlantic provinces and a bald eagle in the Vancouver area, plus domestic birds at two “non-poultry” farms in Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula and two non-commercial backyard flocks in Nova Scotia.
Since none of those cases involved commercial poultry, Canada had been considered to be free of high-path avian flu since 2015, up until two outbreaks were confirmed on Nova Scotia poultry farms in February. Three commercial turkey operations and another backyard flock in southwestern Ontario were confirmed with the virus in the last week of March.
Control zones
CFIA on Thursday (March 31) also announced it had established new primary control zones (PCZs) in the areas of southwestern Ontario where H5N1 has been identified, with the aim of preventing further spread.
Any movement of domestic birds in and out of — or through — a PCZ is “strictly controlled” and requires a permit from CFIA, the agency said. Movement restrictions will also apply on poultry products and byproducts and on material that has “come into contact with domesticated birds.”
To maintain export market access, CFIA said, any poultry meat products originating from a PCZ “must meet the (avian flu) requirements of the importing countries” in question.
Control zones include both “infected” and “restricted” zones. Traffic involving live birds into or out of an infected zone is prohibited, except in live birds bound for slaughter or in outbound day-old chicks, either of which requires a specific permit.
Other traffic — such as in poultry meat, table eggs and poultry and egg products — in or out of or through a PCZ requires either general or specific permits.
Movement of any “small holding” poultry out of either the restricted or infected zones in a PCZ is prohibited, CFIA said. –– Glacier FarmMedia Network
