VANCOUVER – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed two more outbreaks of avian influenza in small flocks – one in southern British Columbia and the other in southeastern Alberta.
A statement from the agency said the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza was identified on Saturday in a flock in Cypress County, Alta.
The British Columbia case came a day after 4,000 turkeys on a farm in the Fraser Valley had to be euthanized as bird flu was tested last week at two poultry farms at the Abbotsford Poultry Center in British Columbia.
Data from the Food Inspection Agency show that the outbreak is the 12th registered in British Columbia since the first case in the province on April 13.
The infection in Cypress County, near Medicine Hat, is the 29th in Alberta, but the first in more than a week.
The agency warns that the so-called bird flu is spreading worldwide and outbreaks have been confirmed in every province except Prince Edward Island.
Only British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec reported new cases in May.
Poultry owners are advised to use strict infection control measures and take precautions to keep their flocks separate, protected and from mingling with wild birds thought to be carriers of the virus.
A wildlife center in central Alberta said last week that it was caring for four young foxes who may have contracted bird flu after eating the carcasses of birds that died from the disease, and there were fears that more cleaners get sick.
The Food Inspection Agency said no cases of bird flu have been detected in humans.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 24, 2022.
The Canadian press
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