The presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed in six commercial poultry flocks in British Columbia on November 6.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported that of those six flocks, three were in Chilliwack. One flock each was affected in Abbotsford, Kent District and Fraser Valley Regional District.
Information concerning the type of poultry flocks affected, or the number of birds involved, has not yet been released by the CFIA.
With these new cases, British Columbia has had 20 commercial poultry farms in 2022 and 92 premises affected by HPAI during the 2022-23 outbreak, with the first of those cases being confirmed on April 13, 2022. Of those, 47 of the affected farms have been in Abbotsford and 29 of them have been in Chilliwack. Kent District has now had two flocks affected, while this is the first for the Fraser Valley District.
Breakdown by province
During the 2022-23 HPAI outbreak, seven Canadian provinces have had confirmed cases of avian influenza in commercial poultry flocks. However, only five have had confirmed cases in 2023.
See how those seven provinces rank in terms of the most flocks affected:
1. British Columbia – As earlier noted, British Columbia has had 20 flocks affected in 2023 and 92 during the past two years. This province has had exactly twice as many flocks hit by HPAI than the province with the second-most affected farms.
2. Alberta – With 46 affected flocks, Alberta ranks second among Canadian provinces. There were flocks affected in 2022 and eight in 2023.
3. Quebec – Quebec has actually had more flocks affected in 2023 than any other province at 24. Adding the 16 farms affected in 2022, that brings Quebec’s total to 40.
4. Ontario – HPAI hit 30 commercial poultry flocks in Ontario in 2022 and three more flocks have been affected in 2023, bringing the total to 33.
5. Saskatchewan – Saskatchewan has had a total of 22 commercial flocks struck by HPAI during the past two years. Sixteen of those occurred in 2022 and six more occurred in 2023.
6. Manitoba – Manitoba has managed to avoid any cases of HPAI in commercial poultry in 2023, but the province did have 17 flocks affected in 2022.
7. Nova Scotia – There were two confirmed instances of HPAI striking commercial poultry in Nova Scotia in 2022, but like Manitoba, Nova Scotia has been able to keep HPAI away from its poultry flocks in 2023.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
