Canada’s only case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to be confirmed in a commercial poultry operation so far in 2024 occurred in a flock of 11,261 broilers, reported the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
The case, earlier reported on WATTPoultry.com, was confirmed on January 3 in Papineau Regional County Municipality in Quebec. However, at the time, it had not yet been disclosed that it was a broiler flock.
According to a report from WOAH, 272 chickens in the flock died, and testing proved positive for HPAI. The remaining 10,989 birds in the flock were depopulated.
The only other report of HPAI in Canada so far this year was a backyard flock in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, with that case being confirmed on January 9, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). However, instances of HPAI in backyard poultry should not have an impact on international poultry trade, in accordance with rules set by the WOAH.
In 2023, Canada had 103 commercial poultry flocks struck by HPAI, with 27 of those flocks being in Quebec. In 2022, there were 122 HPAI cases in commercial poultry in Canada, of which, 16 were in Quebec.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
Read our ongoing coverage of the global avian influenza outbreak.
