By Roy Graber, Feed & Grain Times
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has returned to Canada, with the country’s first detection of HPAI in a commercial poultry flock since May.
According to a report from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) the presence of HPAI was confirmed in a commercial poultry flock in Warner County, Alberta, on September 14. The strain of HPAI was of the H5N1 serotype.
The affected premises was a mixed poultry farm that involved turkeys, broilers and layers. The affected flock involved 1,960 susceptible birds – 390 of which had died.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) immediately quarantined the premises and began implementing strict movement controls, WOAH reported. The remaining 1,570 birds were euthanized.
Other control measures put in place include disinfection, zoning, surveillance inside and outside of the restricted zone, and disposal of carcasses, byproducts and waste.
Canada has not had any cases of HPAI in a commercial poultry flock since May 6, when the virus was confirmed in a commercial poultry flock in the Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality in Quebec.
However, it had been much longer since HPAI affected a commercial poultry flock in Alberta. Prior to the outbreak in Warner County, the last time HPAI struck a commercial flock in the province was November 15, with that outbreak occurring in Forty Mile County.
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