B.C., Alberta farms confirm latest avian flu outbreaks
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 says the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza was identified Saturday in the flock in Cypress County, Alta., and on Sunday among birds in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen in B.C.
The B.C. case came one day after 4,000 turkeys on a Fraser Valley farm were due to be euthanized as avian flu was verified last week on two commercial poultry farms in B.C.'s poultry producing hub of Abbotsford.
Data from the food inspection agency shows the outbreak is the 12th recorded in B.C. since the province's first case 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 globally and outbreaks have been confirmed in every province except Prince Edward Island.
However, only B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec have recorded new cases in May.
Poultry owners are being advised to use strict infection control measures and to take precautions to keep their flocks separate, secure and unable to mix with wild birds, which are believed to be carrying the virus.
A wildlife centre in central Alberta said last week that it was caring for four young foxes that likely picked up avian flu after eating carcasses of birds that died of the illness, and there was concern more scavengers could become ill.
The food inspection agency said no human cases of avian flu have been detected.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.