The new case was announced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), but aside from identifying it as a commercial poultry operation, the agency did not release information about the type of flock or the number of birds involved. This is the third new case of HPAI in commercial poultry in the province this week, as two cases were confirmed on August 12. One of them was located in Willow Creek Township and the other in Starland County. Alberta now had 26 confirmed cases of HPAI in commercial poultry in 2022 in Alberta, three of which were in Wetaskiwin County. According to information from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), one case in this county was confirmed on April 10 and involved 7,605 commercial turkeys, while the other was confirmed on April 21 and involved 161,400 broiler chickens. Canada has seen a recent surge in new HPAI cases, with confirmed cases in Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatchewan all occurring in the same week. Several new cases have also been reported in the US state of Minnesota, which borders two Canadian provinces.
Other Avian Influenza Developments in North America
Minnesota was the last state to have confirmed cases of HPAI, with two new cases confirmed on September 14. Other states with new cases in commercial poultry reported in September include Utah, California and Ohio. Meanwhile, poultry producers in Tennessee are on high alert after a case of HPAI was confirmed in a backyard flock, APHIS said in a news release. Before that, the only cases of HPAI in the state were in wild birds. However, a containment zone around an affected herd in Fulton County, Kentucky, extended into Tennessee. APHIS has since released this control area. Tennessee’s backyard case, according to the standards set by WOAH, should have no effect on international trade. To learn more about HPAI cases in North American commercial poultry flocks, see an interactive map at WATTPoultry.com. Read our ongoing coverage of the global bird flu outbreak.
